Perceived Parallels
by TacoPanda
Summary: Danny's used to fighting ghosts with clear intentions, motives, goals. Simple enemies that he can beat through strength, experience, and creative thinking. As he glides through life existing as a duality, it doesn't really occur to him that he's not the only one who's more complex than the average person. Enemies can be complicated and cunning, too. He's not used to fighting them.
1. 1: Poisonous

**A/N: My first fic! I've been a part of the Danny Phantom Phandom for a good many years, and I've had an itch to write lately. I plan on this to be pretty long, and all of it will be interconnected in some way within its own universe. I'll be using the Inktober prompts for inspiration, but I'll be shuffling around and adjusting them to better suit the needs of the fic. The first few chapters will likely start out slow, but it should pick up later on.**

 **As always, critiques, advice, and reviews are totally welcome! This _is_ my first fic, so if you see anything OOC or wrong let me know, I take criticism rather well. Updates will be frequent, but sporadic, you might get another update tonight!**

It's been a pretty normal few days for Danny recently, oddly normal if you'd ask him about it. Ghost attacks have been few and far between since Friday night and since it was already Thursday, that meant a whole 6 days without anything notable happening aside from the occasional wandering beast or annoyance.

Needless to say, the entirety of Amity was on high alert, waiting for the next 'Pariah Dark' or 'Undergrowth' to occur. You really couldn't live in this town without expecting a building to collapse or an entire road to be closed off every other day, so normalcy was… not normal, to them. A certain ghost boy, however, was enjoying his mini vacation.

"Cmon guys, it's not like the universe has the energy to curse us every week, I say, enjoy the relaxation while it lasts." Danny was leading the infamous trio to head to the Nasty Burger for after-school treats with a bounce in his step. He figured he deserved it.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy it, I'm just saying that you shouldn't let your guard down." Sam tilted her head to the side and shrugged her backpack on a little tighter, keeping her eyes peeled for any supernatural occurrences.

"I'm kinda with Sam on this one," Tucker looked up from his PDA to glance at Danny "don't you think it's weird that nothing has happened yet? I mean, not even Skulker has shown up since, what, two weeks ago?"

Danny started walking backwards to face his two friends directly "Yeah, and my ghost sense will tell me if anyone appears, and _then_ I'll be on guard." He flips back around and shrugs. "Besides, I bet Friday the 13th had everyone pooped, I heard they had a huge rager in the ghost zone from Johnny, maybe they're still zonked out or something. I just know that I've managed to raise most of my C's to B's, and I think I even have an A- for once! I'm allowed to appreciate a break."

The group walked into the Nasty Burger, ordered their shakes, and grabbed a number for their table. Picking their usual spot, they sit down in the booth and continue their chat a bit more hushed.

"You're not wrong, I've been enjoying the time off too." Sam unzips her backpack, pulls out a giant, purple book, and places it on the table with an audible _thump_. "I've been doing a lot of research at the Skulk and Lurk about more ghost stuff, and I managed to find another book by Freakshow by asking the owners about their personal collection, which they're apparently allowing people to borrow from now." She opens up to a random page and runs her hand along the surface. "But it seems like it's all in a weird foreign language. I asked them what they made of it and they said it's a probably untranslatable dead language. I figured it might be something to look over."

Danny spins the book towards himself and looks it over, but Tucker raises an eyebrow at the goth. "Sam, it's not really a break if you're working during it. Why don't you take some more time to play Doomed or something instead of looking up ghost research?"

"Hey, I was into the paranormal since I was in grade school," she said, bringing a hand to her chest. "it's totally goth. I still consider this recreational reading." She looks towards Danny. "Well, if it can be translated."

Danny had been slowly looking over the text in the book as his friends were arguing. "No, yeah, this is definitely Ghost Speak, but I'm not fluent enough to translate most of this stuff. I think it's talking about how ghosts are created, and going by the table of contents it seems pretty in-depth- a lot of technical stuff." Upon seeing Valerie come out from behind the counter with their shakes, he closes the book and pushes it back towards Sam. "Seems more useful to my parents than me, but maybe you should check out if they have anything else?"

Sam returns the book to her backpack and nods "Yeah, I'll check it out this weekend and I'll let you guys know what I find. Meanwhile, you should catch up on your, uh… Spanish." She warily glances up at Valerie, who raises an eyebrow in response.

"Two chocolates and a strawberry for you guys. How're you doing today?" She places the glasses in front of the trio and looks towards Danny.

"Great, Val, how's it been with you?"

"Good, been a calm week, hasn't it? Haven't seen a ghost in awhile."

"Yeah, it's nice not having to run for our lives every other day."

Valerie laughs and rolls her eyes. "Very true Fenton, very true. I'll see you guys around, gotta get back to work." Valerie waves and walks back to the counter.

"See ya!" Danny replies. The three teens wave back.

The trio stares at each other for a moment, before Tucker breaks the silence. "Did she seem actually… kinda cool right then?" he takes a sip of his shake.

Sam shrugs "Well, I'm sure it is nice for her too. If Danny gets a break, that means she does as well."

"You're probably right." Tucker prods at the cherry with his straw. "I swear though, if everyone keeps talking about how there aren't any ghosts around, they're just going to jinx it."

Danny, who was busy stirring the whipped cream into his shake, coughs roughly as his breath mists in front of him.

"Tucker!" they both yell out. Danny groans and gets up, leaving his untasted shake behind with a look of regret.

"For the record, I blame you for this." Glaring at Tucker, Danny stalks over to the bathrooms.

"Bad-Luck-Tuck strikes again." Sam sings, while the rest of the restaurant jumps from the sound of a technogeek's head hitting the table.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny flies up and around the Nasty Burger invisibly, searching the skies for any obvious impending doom. Upon seeing none, he phases back into visibility and charges up some energy in his palms. "Come on out, I know you're-"

Danny gets interrupted by an ectoblast to his calf before he can even finish his sentence. Looking down, he sees Skulker charging at him guns blazing and projects a shield, narrowly blocking the following attacks.

"You keep your eyes up, and I'll come from below, whelp!" Skulker zooms past Danny and spins around to face him.

Danny smirks "Wow Skulker, real impressive, you've managed to outsmart a _formerly_ failing high-school student for a moment." he then flies out from behind the shield and charges up an ectoblast of his own. "You want some extra credit or something? I for one would jump at that." He fires it off towards Skulker, but the robotic ghost manages to dodge it.

 _Is he getting faster?_ Danny wonders, and his question is swiftly answered as Skulker barrels after him before he can react, slamming into him and smashing him through the roof of the Nasty Burger. The entire restaurant screams and scatters.

(One employee, however, takes a glance at the chaos and throws her hat on the ground in a huff, before stomping off to the back of the store.)

Danny sees Skulker charging up another round of ectoblasts and tries to get up, but winces at the increasing pain in his calf. _What did he…?_

"Enjoying the upgrades, ghost whelp?" Fortunately for Danny, before Skulker can attack, he's hit in the side by a few, smaller ectoblasts sent by Sam and Tucker.

"Leave him alone you outdated piece of firmware!" Tucker provides suppressing fire while Sam helps up Danny.

"You good?" Sam asks. Danny slowly gets to his feet but falters as soon as he puts weight on his injured calf.

"I don't know, he hit me in the leg with something, and it doesn't feel like a usual ectoblast." He levitates off the ground. "It's fine if I fly though, so let me finish this off."

Danny flies past Tucker and sends off some ice blasts towards Skulker, focusing on the joints of his suit. He misses most, but manages to freeze shut one of the hatches to his stronger guns, and considers that a minor victory.

"Ha! Even if you freeze half my weapons, that'll still be enough to hunt you, boy!" A familiar latch opens, letting loose almost a dozen missiles locked onto Danny's ectosignature. Danny, trying to minimize property damage (he's been working hard on this lately, the less he can get the town to hate him, the better) flies out of the Nasty Burger through the already made hole, and blasts the missiles out of the air one by one.

As he finishes off the last one, a blur flies past him again, and a sharp pain runs across his left arm. Looking down, he sees ectoplasm freely flowing down his arm from three deep slices despite its increased viscosity, and the tang of it burns his senses. Skulker floats high above Danny, green ooze marring his retractable claws.

 _He's being a lot more savage today, what gives?_

The pain, surprisingly enough, isn't as bad as his calf currently is, but it's not like he needs more wounds to patch up. He turns towards Skulker again and growls, gripping his unmoving arm and simply decides to get in close-quarters combat to avoid his assortment of guns. Danny speeds up to him and furiously kicks and punches with his good limbs, covering them in burning ectoplasm to provide damage even on his missed shots.

This seems to throw Skulker off enough for him to fumble with the ghost boy. Danny manages to take out a good number of the weapon control systems on his arms before Skulker works into a flow of his own. Danny hisses in pain when a swipe at the feet hits his injured leg, and recoils from the following punch, sending him again hurtling towards the ground. He hits the roof of the Nasty Burger _hard_ , and groans when he attempts to get up.

"Had enough, ghost child? Injuries getting too much to handle? Why don't you come into the peaceful confines of my cage and-" Skulker is interrupted when a missile flies in and hits him in the back, and the Red Huntress emerges.

"I was having a good day, ghost, and you had to go and ruin it!" Red follows up with a variety of furious ectoblasts and circles around Skulker like a shark and its prey.

Meanwhile, Sam and Tucker are looking for Danny in the alleyways beside the Nasty Burger.

"He fell Tucker, we gotta find him! He isn't looking so hot, I think that hit on his leg did something to him."

"I know, I know!" Tucker replies, who's glued to his PDA. "It says he should be right in front of-"

 _CRASH!_

Danny crawls out from the stack of boxes he seemingly landed in, and collapses on the ground in front of his friends, panting all the while.

"Danny!" They say in unison.

Sam runs to his side and turns Danny on his back, trying not to disturb his many injuries. Danny looks at his hand, clenching and unclenching it, with lines of worry and pain etched into his face.

"I- ugh- I tried to fly, why wouldn't it work?" He looks up to Sam and Tucker as if they have the answer.

"I don't know Danny, but we've got to get you out of here. Do you think you can turn invisible so we can bring you to Tucker's? I can carry you if you cling on." Tucker nods with her.

"I think so… but no promises. I might just have to change back." He groans as he starts to stand up with the help of Sam and his relatively uninjured leg, and then wraps himself around Sam.

"Thank god you're lighter like this, or I'd have to get seriously buff to carry you around." Sam looks back at Danny and smiles before he vanishes. Tucker leads the way, picking up a light jog.

"Looks like your parents are on the scene with Skulker, so that should be enough to take care of him. What's up though? You usually never have a problem with him."

A disembodied voice responds with a hint of difficulty. "I don't know, he got a lucky first shot in when I first went out there, and it hit me in the back of my leg. I thought it was a normal ectoblast but it isn't healing at all. The slices on my arm are even closing up, but this one just feels like it's… spreading, or something." He sighs. "My powers have been acting funny too. I tried to phase through the Nasty Burger instead of crashing into the roof but couldn't, and when I tried to fly down to you guys… well, you know."

"Well, we're almost at my place dude. We can get you patched up and then we can see what's up. Maybe your body's not used to healing ectoblasts from the break or something."

Sam scowls at the concrete. "That's quite a reach, Tucker."

He shrugs. "I don't see you coming up with any theories."

"I'd put my money on Skulker inventing some sort of acidic compound he put into his guns, which means if we clean the wound out it should be better." she cringes. "Sorry Danny, that's probably going to hurt." a loud whine sounds out from behind Sam.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Upon getting to Tucker's house (and distracting his mom with the baking of cookies) the three had managed to bandage and clean all of Danny's wounds, but his accelerated healing just wasn't kicking into the last one.

"It hurts a lot less, that's for sure." Danny tilts his leg to the side to get a better look at the damage. They had to cut his iconic HAZMAT suit to get better access.

"Yeah, but it still looks like a raw burn, well… a green raw burn." Sam pokes at the edges of it. "It's stopped spreading too, so that's a good sign."

Tucker peers into the modified first-aid kit they've been using and pulls out a familiar vial of green liquid. "Hey, do you guys think the ecto-dejecto would help? Maybe your body just needs a kick-start to take care of it."

"I mean, it's worth a shot. I'd rather not change back with a giant hole in my leg." Tucker passes the vial to Sam.

"Speaking of changing back, we'd better hurry. Who knows when your parents are going to show up at Tucker's door demanding to hunt the ghost in his house?" She uncaps the modified vial and starts to shake it.

"Nah, they're probably chasing down Val if they've already finished off Skulker. They've figured out that her suit gives off an ectosignature and want to run some tests, and you know that there's no way she'd agree to anything like that."

"Do they think she's a ghost?" Sam asks, and sprays the stuff on Danny's wound.

"Ah, that feels nice actually. And no, From the last two years of fighting with her they know that she doesn't react to ghost shields or any other weapons, and she doesn't have ghost powers like intangibility or invisibility. They probably just think she's contaminated or something."

"Well, if it keeps them off your back for a while then I don't see a problem." Sam pulls at the skin around Danny's burn and looks closely. "Tucker, I think you're right, it looks like it's working."

The three of them all crowd around Danny's wound and look closely. Sure enough, the skin begins to change back to its usual tan color and slowly closes around the burn.

"Man, I can't ever get over how freaky this looks- uh… no offense, Danny." he glances up at the ghost boy with an apologetic look.

"None taken Tuck. When the ecto-dejecto has to get involved lots of weird stuff happens." He pauses for a moment and then lies down, staring at the ceiling. "It kinda reminds me of bread baking sometimes."

The other two teens look down at the halfa quizzically, before Sam shakes her head. "You know, you say the weirdest things sometimes."

He shrugs. "Comes with the job, I guess. You know you love it." That devilish smirk reappears.

A dust of pink marks Sam's face, but Tucker's the one to respond. "I don't think if we were the ones with ghost powers we'd be anywhere near as weird as you, dude."

"Yeah, yeah. Is it done yet? Usually, this stuff runs pretty quickly."

"Just about." Sam stands up and rests her hands on her hips. "You can probably change back now, it looks like it'll only be tender in human form. How's your arm doing?"

Danny sits up and rubs his arm. "Probably just shallow cuts, they'll be faint scratches by tomorrow morning." He gets up and stretches, testing out putting weight on his leg. "I'll just cover it up with gauze, say I got hit by some rubble at the Nasty Burger. Val saw me there anyway so it won't be too weird." Danny takes one more look at his calf and tries to morph back. The familiar transformation ring appears, flickers, and then hesitates before spreading over his form to reveal his human half. Danny scowls.

"I... don't like that."

Sam gets up and looks him over. "You seem fine. Did it feel different?"

He looks down at himself and rubs his hand over his core. "It felt like my human self was harder to pull out, like I subconsciously hesitated before shifting back."

"Maybe you were hesitant of your injuries? We didn't really know what would happen if you tried to change with that weird ectoplasm eating away at you." Sam kneels down and pulls up his pant leg. "On the bright side, it looks normal now." She prods at it and looks up at Danny. "Does it hurt?"

"No, feels absolutely fine, not even sore or anything."

"The malfunctioning powers thing we might want to monitor, maybe you're just worn out from the fight?"

 _Just what I need, now I'm going to be worrying about this all night._

"Maybe..." Danny then tests out his many powers, and seeing them all in at least somewhat working order, starts to relax.

"Alright, why don't we start on our Chem homework since we're all here anyway?" Danny goes over to pick up his backpack Tucker managed to grab during the fight. "I was actually confused about-"

 _"Tucker! Cookies are ready!"_

"Well, at least we can end the night off on a positive note. _Coming, Mom!_ " Tucker gets up from his computer chair and heads downstairs, and the remaining two take out their homework for a calm night of study.


	2. 1: Poisonous (Ch 2)

**A/N: A continuation from Poisonous. Enjoy!**

The next few days left Danny feeling rather... irritated. It reminded him of his first month of using his powers again. They functioned intermittently, and oftentimes beyond his control. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz had to make sure to keep his emotions in check since the 'Scary Eyes' came up more often than any of them would like, and much more often than Danny could control. People who didn't know Danny particularly well (and his parents) might say he's becoming more and more distant and careless, but due to the lack of ghost attacks his grades were higher than ever.

This lead to everyone with the power to confront him simply... leave the situation be. After all, he was coming home with fewer injuries, was more awake in class, and had better grades- so it had to be positive, right?

" _UGH,_ this is the worst!"

Maybe not.

He, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were all in Danny's room discussing the most recent of events, in particular, the dwindling control Danny had over his abilities _and_ the ghost that his parents ran out to fight right now. (Probably Skulker again, honestly. He's been all over the place lately.) A white light flickers around Danny's chest, and then putters out.

"It's been almost 2 weeks and I _still_ can't go ghost! This is insane!" He cards his hands through his hair and paces about the room.

A shrill beep responds in almost a mocking way to Danny's complaints. He glares at it. "Yeah dude, your parent's thing, the uh... _Fenton Ghost Analyzer_ says you're only a level 2 in human form now. Our last test had you at a level 5."

"Like, seriously?! A level 2? Tuck, the _BOX GHOST_ is a level 3!" He collapses on his bed and holds his head in his hands. "I'm barely an 'ectoplasmic entity' at all anymore. What do I do now?"

Jazz goes to sit beside Danny. "Well, there is always the option of just... stopping the whole ghost fighting thing. Your grades are up and you're not getting beat up anymore, it might be time to finally be a normal teen again. It'll probably be better for your mental health as well." She leans down to try to look him in the eyes and rubs soothing circles into his back. Danny always feels comforted by her familial love. "Right, little brother?"

"I-"

" _OR,_ you could pick up the family business and kick ghost butt with your parents, how cool would that be?" Sam exclaims. "You still have all the skills, knowledge, and experience to fight ghosts better than they do even without your powers. Plus, you've got a kickass ghost-fighting team to work with you too!" She walks over to Danny and puts her hand on his shoulder. There's something about Sam's go-to attitude that really is motivating to him. "There are still people to save, you know?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Another possibility," Tucker muses, spinning around in Danny's computer chair "is to be kind of a diplomat for ghost-relations. You could talk to them, maybe appeal to whatever government system they have, and stuff like that. You do still know ghost-speak, so that would make things easier. Maybe you could get them to stop attacking the town for once, and _I_ could be your manager!"

Danny gives up on trying to speak, looks blankly ahead, and prepares for the ensuing argument.

"Tucker, that's ridiculous, he's not running for president of the ghost zone or something"

 _There it is._

"What do you mean? Being a diplomatic ambassador for the ghost zone is totally feasible."

 _They don't get it._

"Guys, it doesn't really seem like you're putting Danny's best interests in mind. He's a growing teen, stability is good for him."

 _It's not like I should expect them to, not even Jazz knows the intricacy of ghost mentality._

"Danny has a greater responsibility though, there are still people he can protect and save!"

 _She's right, there are. And I_ need _to protect them._

"But knowing the details of ghost tendencies might leave a greater impact than fighting them as a human."

 _The elaborate and complex web of ghost culture, ha. Put a drop of blood in the ocean, and that's about how much I know._

"And what if someone like Pariah shows up again? Mom and Dad's weaponry or diplomacy isn't going to work against that, it'd be a death sentence!"

 _I'd give anything to protect Amity._

"He wouldn't be alone! We can all fight, _together_. We have the ability to do something, so we should."

 _No, I_ can't _let you put yourselves in danger like that. It's already been too close, too often._

"He doesn't really have a responsibility to fight more than the average person if he doesn't have his powers though."

"I may not have powers, but I'm still half-ghost."

The arguing teens all fall silent at the voice of the resident ghost boy. He looks up at them and sighs heavily, like he's releasing his very essence into the small room.

"This is way simpler than being a normal kid, or ghost culture, or even fighting ghosts, guys." He rubs the back of his neck and pauses, thinking about how he wants to say this. _Do I want to say this?_ "You know that my mom and dad talk about 'obsessions' all the time with ghosts, right?" The group nods. "Well... I obviously, being a half-ghost, have one too. Or multiple, maybe. I'm not quite sure what it is exactly though." At his friend's blank stares, he taps his foot and tries to continue. "Anyways, when a ghost can't fulfill their obsession regularly, they get restless. There's a growing... _need_ to do whatever it is they're obsessed with. Usually, for me, it doesn't last long since there's plenty of opportunities to fulfill it, but with my ghost powers going haywire... I haven't been able to." He sighs again, turning it into a groan at the end. "It's not a pleasant experience, just saying."

The rest of the group looks to each other, each waiting to ask the inevitable question that none of them wanted to. Jazz was the one to break the silence.

"Danny, what... is your obsession, exactly?"

Danny looks to her and his eyes flash that toxic green, but they glow brighter than they have in a long while. Jazz immediately reels back, removing her hand from his back and putting some distance between them.

Danny notices her adverse reaction and closes his eyes.

 _Breathe. In, out. You're fine, you're in your room, safe, with the people you trust most. In, out._

When his eyes open, they're their pure, comforting blue again.

"Sorry, when you ask a ghost that it's like asking them how they died or something, it can bring back flashbacks. They generally don't like it." Danny says curtly. After a bit, he calms down.

"It's hard to explain. Like I said, I'm not exactly sure myself."

 _Trust them. They'll accept you, they always have._

Danny looks up to his ceiling, to the little plastic stars that were stuck up there many years ago. "I think a part of it is space, or freedom, something along the lines of that." He leans back to lie on his bed with his legs hanging off the side and smiles. "Sometimes I just get this urge to go out and fly under the night sky, zoning out into some sort of trance. It's calming and leaves me more rested than I would if I got a full night's sleep. I can even tell which planets are where, even if they're not visible."

He props himself up on his shoulders. "I think the other one... the main one, is protection or saving people or something like that. I can't help seeing people in pain or sadness. I just gotta do something, you know?" Danny smiles even larger, a true, genuine smile. "I'm happy that my obsession became one that I can use to help people instead of hurt them."

 _Jeez Fenton, really putting your heart out there, huh?_

There's a brief silence. "Well," Tucker leans forward to look Danny in the eye. "why can't you fulfill those things without your ghost powers? You could go to the top of the Ops Center to look at stars, and you _could_ fight ghosts with your parents, or even become something more mundane like a police officer if it's just helping people."

Danny furrows his brows and looks back down at the ground. "While I did say it was pretty simple, it kind of isn't at the same time. There's a different feeling that I have when I'm sitting at the observatory than when I'm flying above the clouds. And for the protection thing, it's just not frequent enough, I think. With my ghost sense, I knew that I wasn't missing anything. I knew that if anything got in my territory, I would know and could do something about it. Not knowing if someone can be the victim of an attack at any moment is..." Danny pauses and worries his hands. "it makes me anxious. Even taking out the little, animalistic ones fulfills my obsession enough, but I can't find and catch them without my powers."

There's another, longer silence, and then Danny stands up abruptly. "I'm gonna go see Frostbite."

"We're coming too." Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all stand with him. Danny looks rather surprised at the sudden declaration. Noticing this, Jazz takes Danny's hand.

"It's all about what _you_ want, little brother. If this is something that you feel like you have to do, we'll be behind you one hundred percent." His other two friends nod, and Jazz walks over to open his bedroom door. "And plus, with you out of commission and Valerie on her work shift, Mom and Dad will probably be busy for the rest of the day, so they won't notice the Spectre Speeder missing! So cmon, let's get a move on!" Jazz turns and walks down the stairs, leaving a quick note on the kitchen table if their parents _do_ come home before expected. The trio is quick to follow.

"Wait, so you're coming too?" Danny asks.

"Of course! I can't knowingly leave all of you alone in an entirely different dimension without a guardian. What kind of sister would I be? That, and you've mentioned in the past that Frostbite is someone that I should meet, so I figured now's as good a time as ever." Jazz pauses, and her face falls as she looks towards the ground. "Ah, that is... if you'd be alright with me coming."

Danny again looks surprised and then walks over to his sister with a calm smile on his face. As soon as they make eye contact, the smile turns into a smirk. "Well..." He drops his voice a few octaves. **"This is going to be a dangerous mission, Jasmine Fenton. I only want you coming if you can truly handle it."** He extends a hand out to her. "Of course I'd be happy if you joined us, Jazz."

Jazz _beams_ , and gladly accepts the handshake. "You dork, I can totally handle it! I'm a Fenton too, after all."

Danny laughs. _I... really do have the best people in the world with me._

"Grab your jackets guys, it's about to get chilly."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny steers the Spectre Speeder down into the ice cave, maneuvering around giant shards of ice and sheets of falling snow. The Speeder's form reflects off of the glacial surfaces, making it appear like the entire cave is moving along with its occupants. The three full humans in the cabin shiver, while the halfa sighs contentedly.

"Alright, finally here!" Danny runs out of the Speeder almost before it touches down, hopeful that Frostbite will have _something_ to solve, or at least improve, his situation. He gestures towards his fellow travelers.

"Make sure to stay close, the Far Frozen might be full of friends, but snowstorms and falling ice are still a risk. Oh, and if you see a Yeti, let me know. They know the best ways to get through without flight."

The others nod and chatter their teeth, trying to peer through the stark white landscape for landmarks of any kind, but see none. They follow Danny and make idle conversation as they walk.

"Speaking of dangers- Sam, did you notice the lack of ghosts in the Zone right now?"

Sam nods and pulls back the hood of her fluffy black jacket to get a better look at Tucker. "Yeah, I did. Usually, we encounter a good dozen of them within the first 15 minutes of flying out of the portal, but I think I only saw one or two, and nobody we know."

"Is that bad or something?" Jazz asks. "It made our trip here a lot easier, especially since we don't have Danny to back up the Spectre Speeder's defenses."

"Usually I would say no, but the fact that this has been going on for almost a month is... probably not good." Sam looks towards Danny, who's gotten somewhat farther ahead in his haste. "Should we ask Frostbite about that too, Danny?"

"Hm? What was that? Sorry guys, I'm kinda focused on getting us to the Yeti's kingdom." Danny stops and squints through the snow. "Look! That's it!" and he points.

"Oh wow, I just remembered that we haven't been to the Far Frozen in almost a year now." Sam jogs up to Danny with Tucker in tow.

"Well, that explains the changes, I guess."

As the snowfall starts to thin, the group first sees large ice spires painting jagged lines into the horizon in front of a backdrop of mountain ranges. Into the nearest mountain is carved a large stone door adorned with intricate engravings in a language that none of the humans can recognize or hope to understand. Two yetis guard the large door and more walk around the rest of the city. In front of that lies a circular clearing, and in the center stands a ten-foot-tall ice sculpture of their very own ghost boy in a dramatic battle-pose. As soon as Danny sees it, he rubs the back of his neck and laughs nervously. Jazz stands beside him and smiles, crossing her arms and adopting a sly smirk.

"So, seems you're _pretty_ popular here huh little brother?"

"I- uh- yeah they- uh... oh boy, when did they add that? Cmon, I bet you're cold, let's uh... go inside. Ah yeah, bonus to that plan- there's probably not another statue of me... I hope!" Danny quickly jogs around the statue and approaches the guards, who have already noticed Danny's arrival.

 _"Mek thog zeg su bulok Forglas, coi norar sen glonque yu moi usograt?"_

 _"Dorar men_ Phantom, _Forglas timi kroas inan su kem."_

Danny then nods and bows. _"Pogran zu."_ And as the yetis open the doors, Danny gestures to his friends to follow. A stairway descends down, and the path is lit by glowing shards of ice embedded in the walls.

"What did you say?" Jazz whispers, almost unsure if she should speak.

"I just asked them if Frostbite had time for me, which he does. We're going straight to him right now." Danny laughs. "And don't worry too much about being formal and stuff, Frostbite doesn't mind."

They descend down the stairs to find a room with a high ceiling and a throne, but a large yeti with an arm made of solid ice stands at the foot of the stairs, welcoming the group with a bright, toothy smile.

"Great One and friends! Welcome again to the Far Frozen."

"Hey Frostbite, how have things been here lately?"

Frostbite envelopes Danny in a huge embrace. "Wonderful, peaceful as always! And you, oh Great One?"

Danny smiles softly as he's set down. "About that, you know I usually don't come around with good news. I've been having some issues with my core and powers lately that I think I need you to take a look at, if that's alright?"

"Ah yes, of course we'd be happy to help. Please, come to the laboratory with me." Frostbite walks off through a large corridor to his left. "Do you mind telling me the basics, Great One?"

"Yeah, sure. We're pretty sure it started from when I got hit by an ectoblast by Skulker-"

Meanwhile, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz lag a bit behind to have their own conversation.

"So, Sam, Tucker, why is he calling Danny 'Great One'? I know he's usually pretty powerful and all, but what's the full story?" Jazz pulls down her hood and removes her gloves, it really is warmer in here.

"Ah, that. It's from the Pariah Dark thing. Apparently, when you defeat an ancient, evil king, it tends to give you a few... interesting nicknames."

Tucker scoffs. "Drastic understatement. A few months back we had one ghost come up to Danny in the Zone that kept calling him 'Master of the Ghost Realm', and that made Danny go _real_ awkward. He's used to rabid phans from earth, but when _they_ can fly too, it gets a lot more aggravating a _lot_ faster." Tucker chuckles to himself. "As much as he gives off that confident aura as Phantom, you know how Danny really is. He wouldn't approach a social gathering unless his afterlife was in danger, especially after the experiences he's had with parties and stuff in the past."

Jazz giggles. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like him. I can't say he was necessarily born to be in the spotlight, but I don't think anyone would have it any other way."

They turn into another large, open cavern that looks strikingly similar to their parent's lab at home, sans a giant, glowing green portal embedded into the wall. Another yeti with long white fur and a bright blue tunic stands in the room, scrolling through computer entries. Upon noticing the arriving group, they greet them in the same foreign language that Danny was speaking to the guards. The three humans give their full attention to the ghosts.

"No need for the formalities, sister. I'd like you to meet the fabled Great One, Danny Phantom and his companions. Great One, meet Snowfall. She's the best researcher we have in the Far Frozen, hence her permanent station in my castle."

"Pleased to meet you, young Phantom, friends." She extends her paw in a greeting, and Danny shakes it.

"You too, Snowfall."

"Now, Great One, based on your tellings I do believe I know what ails you, but it does seem to be a concern as to how you got into contact with it. You mentioned an ectoblast sent by Skulker?"

Snowfall pats her paw on an open lab table and Danny jumps up onto it. She starts to run basic tests on his core and human-vitals. "Yeah, he didn't mention anything about it, so I don't know how he got it or anything." Danny lifts his pant leg to let Snowfall see where he got hit.

Frostbite frowns. "I would see if you cannot find out where he got that as soon as possible, Great One." He walks over to a bookshelf and picks one out. "What I believe you got hit with is a poison known as _Lunaria Gornosu_ , which roughly translates to 'Seeping whither' poison." he flips open to a page with what looks like an aquatic animal with delicate, stringy bits hanging off of it, almost like an inside-out jellyfish. "It's harvested from an ancient ghost that lives on the farthest reaches of the Ghost Zone, the Seeping Wisp. With our access to modern technology, flushing this from your system is no large dilemma, but if left unchecked, it can slowly eat away at a ghost's core, eventually causing it to frenzy at the lack of nutrients and unleashing an immense amount of power before destroying the ghost's core completely. Once you get the chance, I would try to figure out how this Skulker got ahold of it, since it would take likely decades in human time to acquire and create this concoction."

Danny looks horrified at what could have happened before Frostbite notices and chuckles. "Luckily for you, you came here in time. There's also the possibility that this outcome would have never occurred due to your strange halfa anatomy. This process is supposed to take months, or even possibly years for a ghost as powerful as you, yet you mentioned this all occurring over the course of two weeks. It's entirely possible that its end could have been different from what should be usual as well."

Frostbite closes the book and hands it to Snowfall who then excuses herself for a moment. "The procedure is rather simple, so I'll leave the rest to Snowfall before I prepare a feast in celebration of your good health." Danny opens his mouth to politely turn down the request before looking at his friends and sighing. "Thank you Frostbite, that would be amazing, I'll see you in a bit!" Frostbite waves a goodbye and heads out of the room.

Sam approaches Danny with an eyebrow raised and Tucker and Jazz in tow. "Really Danny? I was almost sure that you'd say no to dinner- not that I'm complaining, or anything!" she waves her hands in front of her. "I'm just surprised you said yes."

Danny looks at them and smiles. "Yeah well, figured I'd give Jazz a nice _taste_ of the good things the ghost zone has to offer, and give you two a nice night." He rubs the back of his neck. "P-plus, I'm sure my parents haven't come home to make dinner yet, and we didn't grab lunch so... a feast actually sounds pretty good right about now." He looks at each member of Team Phantom and says "Thanks guys, I'm really happy to have you as friends... a-and family! I don't know what I'd do without you."

The three of them blink at Danny blankly before Tucker laughs. "Cmon dude, we didn't do anything special. Ghost Zone trips are always fun!" He rubs his hands together excitingly. "And now, I get a yeti-sized all-you-can-eat buffet of meats fit for a king! Yeah!"

The three laugh at Tucker briefly before Snowfall returns with a few medical instruments. "Young Phantom, are you ready for your treatment?"

The sounds of booming yeti voices are almost completely drowned out by a whooping Phantom zooming along overhead.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Well, he sure is excited." Jazz comments while biting into a strange ghost watermelon.

"Heck yeah I'm excited!" Danny exclaims, echoed voice even more pronounced by the vastness of the ballroom they're in. "Danny Phantom is _back_ guys! Woohoo!"

"I always knew he loved flying, but this is nuts. Sometimes I can only see a blur." Tucker takes a bite out of an odd assortment of meats on a stick, made specifically at his request.

"It's good though, I'm glad he's happy and healthy." Sam partakes in a colorful salad, and the rest of their group makes noises of agreement as they enjoy their meal _and_ the accompanying show.

 **A/N: And that's it for the first prompt! I wasn't 100% sure how to end this at first, but I think it ended up satisfying enough while still setting up some basic themes. Let me know what you think, reviews are _always_ welcome! (I'm also not a writer whatsoever, so any mistakes or advice you can provide is sooooo helpful, honestly.) Next chapter should be out soon, so stay tuned!**


	3. 2: Tranquil

**A/N: I feel like fluff is hard to find in the Danny Phantom phandom, so I've started off with a few chapters that are a lot more fluffy than I intended on writing. Don't worry, things will take a turn soon.**

Shortly after returning from the Far Frozen, Danny collapses face-down on his bed in contented exhaustion. Feeling the freedom of flight and the energy of his core powerfully thrumming in his chest gave him the irresistible temptation to _use it_ , and he willingly gave into the urge. The ectoplasm-filled chill of the Far Frozen only made him more excited, and he couldn't help but fly about and blast chunks of ice excitedly for a time before lazily floating into the Spectre Speeder to head home.

The sunset shines through Danny's bedroom window, painting the room with a faint orange glow. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz look at him sprawled on his bed and quietly giggle to themselves. Tucker pulls out the _Fenton Ghost Analyzer_ and points it at Danny, who whines at the beeping noise.

"A steady level 7 in ghost form, probably back at a 5 in human form."

Danny morphs back into his human self, and the machine beeps again. Danny whines even louder and covers his head with a pillow.

"Yep, level 5."

"Well, let's leave him be, he's had a tiring day. Plus, I'm sure your parents are expecting you home soon." Jazz glances at the bedside table that contains Danny's alarm clock and turns it off, preparing to wake him in a more gentle way in the morning. "It's almost 9pm, and it's a school night. I'm sure you guys can check on him tomorrow morning before he heads out to class."

The younger teens nod and exit the room silently before Jazz lowers the shades and gives Danny a quick kiss on the back of his head before following them.

"Sweet dreams, little brother." Jazz whispers, and the door clicks shut.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny faintly remembers the time he spent in the Spectre Speeder while coming home, but the majority of it is a blur. In his half-consciousness, he remembers sparkling blue blending into deep purple and swirling green, before becoming angry by a bright light and a loud noise, and then being comforted and happy by a warm comforting sense near his core.

Danny falls asleep for a time before slowly blinking awake. He rolls over to look at his clock, which reads 2:42 AM, and then glances over to his window.

 _It has been awhile._

Danny levitates above his bed and transforms with a flash before phasing out of his room and towards the edge of town between Amity and Elmerton. It takes him only a few minutes to get to his destination, and he enjoys the bite of the cool night air.

Danny stops his flight directly above the center of a crystal blue pond below a canopy of trees. He slowly lowers himself onto the center of the pond and produces a small ripple upon setting his feet down on the frigid water.

Something interesting about his ghost from that Danny's developed throughout the years is that he's not only abnormally light, but he can imbue himself with a partial form of flight that allows him to be as light as a feather or as heavy as a person double his size. As a result, waterwalking has been one of his favorite unexpected aftereffects of having ghost powers, especially on nights like these.

Danny peers into the reflective surface of the water, admiring his own glow silhouetted on the night sky. He sits down (which is almost like sitting in a puddle, but he wasn't concerned about that) and looks up, drinking in the vastness of the sky above him. He zones out, naming each constellation one by one like a mantra, and going through each myth, belief, and legend that they represent.

Danny takes some time to ponder over which constellations would best represent the people most important in his life. Would Sam identify more with the heroic tale of Perseus, who saved both Andromeda and Danae from lives of forced marriage to savage brutes, or the tragic legend of Persephone, the goddess who fought against Hades for many years and controls the growth and wilt of the Earth?

Would Tucker prefer the genius and ingenuity of Auriga, the Charioteer, or the inseparable and loyal bond of the fighter Twins, Gemini? Danny had long ago decided which one he would choose for him.

Jazz. Danny already knew that her favorite was Libra, the scales that denote balance, justice, equality, and harmony, but in his mind he always associated her more with the oftentimes overlooked Pleiades. Known more commonly as the Seven Sisters, they're most well known as the daughters of Atlas, the man who held the world on his shoulders, but the number of stories associated with them is vast and complex. The oldest of the constellations, they represent things like affection, love, care, and good virtue. He was sure that Jazz would love going through each and every one of their individual legends and learning about the backgrounds of the cultures they come from.

For himself? Danny was unsure. This isn't an uncommon thing for him, being unsure. His dual nature and very existence are contradictory- so of course, his opinions about himself would always be.

Could he be like Capricorn, the constellation who's story centers around the king of the gods, Zeus, who defeats his cruel father and frees his siblings from their prison in his gluttonous belly? Danny chuckled at that one, especially since Capricorn is also known as the Gateway of the Gods, the passageway you're supposed to pass when you move to the afterlife. It _was_ pretty perfect in an abstract sort of way, he thought.

He figured that his friends would likely tell him he was most like the self-sacrificing swan Cygnus, who willingly gave up his immortality to send his fallen companion's spirit into the afterlife. They always did tell him he had a hero-complex, so he did think they would find that fitting. Well, that and the 'spirit' symbolism. Jeez, he might have more in common than Greek myths after all.

At the end of Danny's contemplation, the sky was lightening enough that the constellations have all but vanished, and he figured it was about time for him to head home before his alarm clock woke up Jazz only for her to find an empty bedroom again. Danny emerges from the lake, (casually noticing that he was floating _in_ the water instead of on top of it for who knows how long) phases himself dry, and flies home at a carefree pace, enjoying the changing colors of the sky and the early-morning silence of the city below.

When Danny phases through his window only a few minutes before his alarm is supposed to go off, he's greeted by Jazz sitting in his computer chair and quietly reading a book. She calmly looks up at him when he touches down and gives a small smile.

"Good morning little brother. How was your night?"

Danny returns her smile. "Morning Jazz, it was actually..." he pauses.

"Really, _really,_ wonderful."

 **A/N: I actually had almost no clue where I was going with this for the prompt, I actually wanted to focus more on the waterwalking than anything, but I'm extremely happy with where it ended up going, probably moreso than my original ideas. If anyone notices any of the stories or constellations cited incorrectly,** _ **please**_ **let me know! I mostly went off of memory and some brief passages I found online, so I could totally be wrong about anything in there. And, as always, review!**


	4. 3: Roasted

**A/N: Don't tell anybody, but I do most of my writing during classes.**

 **Hey, don't blame me. When the inspiration hits, ya gotta act on it.**

A burning building on the east side of Amity, almost farther away from him than Elmerton, Danny saw it on the news shortly after dinner. He didn't typically participate in anything non-ghost related if he wasn't directly involved, since the city's well-funded emergency services usually handled it well, but the fire apparently had spread almost an entire city block in a course of 15 minutes due to some unlucky wind patterns.

Even worse, they think that there are a good number of people still trapped within the blaze, despite the 0 confirmed deaths ticker blinking ominously on the right corner of the screen.

So, of course, Danny couldn't (or wouldn't) keep away. He sent a quick text to Team Phantom about the issue and flew off without waiting for them. This was one of those issues that they really couldn't help with, which made them wary, but they understood.

Upon arriving at the scene Danny's ghost sense went off, and he was immediately suspicious. This wasn't anybody's particular style of haunting, so was it a new ghost that caused all of this, or is he overthinking things? He decided that he didn't really have _time_ to think, let alone overthink, with lives hanging in the balance, so he charged in anyways, hoping to find the worst-trapped first.

The flames licked at Danny's intangible from harmlessly, but it still always felt funny, like feathers being dragged… not _across_ your skin per se, but rather through it. He took a moment to get used to the feeling while listening through the crackle and pop of the flames to try to hear any sort of distinctly _human_ sounds, screaming, coughing, calls for help-

 _There's one, a girl._

Danny dashed through two walls and a hallway to find a woman who had fallen down a stairwell, likely in her haste to escape the building. Probably mid-thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes, her body was bruised, her ankle was swollen and she had already taken off the bright red heels she must have been wearing during the fall.

He glanced at the ankle. _Probably broken._ Danny thought.

He made himself known first by calmly and quietly whispering assurances that she would be okay and then fading into view. The woman looked slightly surprised and confused before recognition dawned, wordlessly reaching out to Danny like a small child. Tears ran light, skin colored tracks down her soot-stained face, revealing faint freckles dusted across her cheeks.

As he reached for her, he made sure to release some of his natural cold energy into the stairwell to counteract the scorching heat. The woman wrapped her arms around Danny's neck, muttering a constant stream of thanks and appreciation. Danny smiled and told her over and over _you're safe, you're safe, you're safe,_ andhe felt her heart rate steadily decrease as he flew her out of the building.

Upon bringing the first woman out and to emergency services, people finally noticed that Danny Phantom was on the scene. He briefly recalls hearing cheering before quickly zooming back in to find more.

Danny was able to fish out around 7 more people in various conditions before the first building that was ablaze, an apartment complex, began to collapse. He decided to do one more sweep of that one before moving back to the rest, as the fire department was still able to go through those on their own.

Danny made a figure-eight through each floor that was still in-tact when he heard the distinct sound of a _child_ coughing through one of the doors in a hallway.

 _Oh no. Please no._

Danny dove through the walls of apartment 23 like a madman, searching every nook and cranny for the source of the desperate coughing. He arrived in the bathroom and tore open the shower curtain, feeling relieved when he finally found the small tan-skinned girl kneeling in a bathtub full of water, desperate to escape the overwhelming heat.

A look of fear flashed on the girl's face at the sudden motion, and she tried to slosh into the farthest corner of the tub that she possibly could, eyes peeled at the disheveled, floating boy covered in ash and soot. Danny quickly took note of this and rubbed his hair, face, and chest, revealing his iconic DP logo and snow-white hair. Recognition dawned on the girl's small, innocent face.

"Danny Phanto-" her statement was interrupted by a series of thick, wheezing coughs that racked her entire small body, and Danny quickly picked her up and turned the both of them intangible to avoid the smoke and flames. She leaned into the cool relief of his body.

"Before I go," Danny softly asked "I need to ask you something that I really need you to answer. Where are your parents or whoever takes care of you? Are they still here?"

Peering up at Danny's still-dirty face. She shook her head.

"I'm home alone, mommy and daddy are out right now, they should be safe."

Danny paused to take in her statement. This girl couldn't be anywhere over 5 years old, and she was home _alone_? He looked at her, into her dark brown eyes that didn't seem to show any emotion or sadness at this statement, saying it as matter-of-factly as she knew it to be. His lips pressed into a thin line and the room dropped another 20 degrees despite the inferno surrounding the two of them. The girl rubbed her arms and shivered before Danny was snapped out of his thoughts and slowly flew out of the building.

When the pair reached the open air outside, Danny quickly turned tangible again, close enough to the building that the fire itself reeled back as if it'd been struck directly by the force of the cold energy shedding off of him. He slowly floated downward, scanning the crowd for an open gurney. The cheers at Phantom saving yet another life, and a little girl at that, we're barely registered as Danny landed and placed her on the white surface stained in ash from its previous occupants. Medical personnel were immediately on them, asking him questions about her scenario and how he found her.

The EMT was in the middle of asking "Where are her parents?" When a loud cry was heard from the crowd of civilians behind the police line.

"Jamie!" Was the name that was called out, and as the two adults that looked strikingly similar to the little girl emerged from the sea of onlookers, Danny lost it.

The girl turned to look at who called her name, but before she could see them the ghost boy wrapped his cool arms around her protectively.

Danny _growled._ His aura flared, his eyes glowed brighter than many have ever seen them, he bared his fangs, and his voice gained an echo as if he was in the vastest cave system known. His obsession screamed out at him only one word, _protect_. He didn't want, _couldn't_ give what was now _his_ back to the people that would have gotten her _killed_ if he wasn't there.

Anyone within a 50ft radius of the powerful Phantom froze, including- no, _especially_ the girl's parents. Both of them, clearly being the target of his aggression, broke out in a cold sweat instantaneously, fear gnawing away at their rationality. They both took a step back, staggering as if he was holding them in chains with only his gaze. The onlookers were silent, unmoving, awaiting whatever wrath Phantom decided to bring upon his quarry.

"She was _alone._ " Danny said, with a finality to it that made the parents flinch. The words vibrated into the soul of every human there. All was still for a time, nobody daring to move lest they anger the ghost that looked as if it would snap at any moment.

Until Danny felt wiggling in his arms.

He looked down at the girl he held and instantly came back to reality, drawing back into himself the raw, ghostly aura that was emanating from him. She looked up at him with confused and worried eyes before looking at the parents that were behind her. Upon making eye contact with them, Danny felt her small hands grip even more firmly into the padding of his suit, and he drew her in more closely in turn.

Danny, being only 16, wasn't sure he was credible, knowledgeable, or even mature enough to make this type of decision, but there was something in his gut that did make him sure that he _didn't_ want this girl to go back to her parents, obsession aside. It was a weekend, an evening. The couple was in an assortment of clothing that looked much too ritzy for the low-income housing that they were living in, and the bones of the girl were much too tangible under Danny's palms. An image of Danielle flashed through his mind.

He knows there's plenty of exceptions that might make this _almost_ alright. The clothes could have been gifts, they could have been to a wedding, funeral, something of that nature. Heck, they could have even been working. One thing was certain, there was _no_ excuse that could make it okay that they leave someone as small and helpless as a 5 year old girl home alone, especially considering her apparent health.

Then there were their eyes. Danny looked up at them and stared deep, drank in their emotion. There was fear, pure, unbridled fear, but that was to be expected. What he searched for was fear for _another_ , parental instinct. He, Danny, a _ghost_ , was clinging onto their seemingly only child. He could snap her in half, burn her to a crisp, whisk her away in an _instant_. (Not that he would, and not that anyone there expected he would either, if they were thinking straight)

Their eyes stayed locked onto Danny's. Not even a flick towards the girl, nothing. They could have been afraid of Danny's essense, sure, but- and Danny might be overthinking this, but he had time now- they could _also_ be afraid that they've been caught. Not worried about their daughter getting taken away, no (because again, they haven't even _looked_ at her) but worried about the consequences. Jail time, fines, a criminal record.

 _Not_ about their little girl.

No, Danny decided, he wasn't credible, knowledgable, or mature enough to even have an inkling about what type of process would be necessary for the girl, but he did know one thing. He had _power_. Not anything regarding him being a level 7 or 8 ecto-entity, but power in reputation. Emergency services knew Danny, and some of them have possibly even figured out his secret (they were very perceptive people, they had to be) so they trusted him. If he said that this girl was in danger, that she needed to be removed from this home, they'd do it in an instant.

Danny Fenton shouldn't make this decision, but Danny Phantom had to.

He turned to the EMT standing next to him and… laughed. Her eyes were glued to the girl, to his hands and arms that held her. He picked up the girl and relaxed his stance, which in turn relaxed the EMT's. She looked up at Danny. (Well, not literally, she was about an inch taller than him. Sometimes he forgets he's still only 16.)

He shifted awkwardly "Is there a detective I can talk to? I uh… need to talk to them. About Jamie."

She pauses for a bit. Glancing between Jamie and her parents, the EMT furrows her brows, and nods.

"Of course, he's not too far away taking statements, follow me."

Danny smiles and follows her, looking too much like a lost brother carrying his little sister. He glances back at the parents, shooting them a glare that could only _dare_ them to follow him, and then they depart.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny drops Jamie off on a gurney closer to where the detective's stationed and struggles to pull her off of him, he chuckles.

"Jamie, you're safe now, you can let go. We're- we're out of the fire now."

She clutches to him tighter. "Dun wanna. Want to stay with you."

Danny sighs and kneels down, thinking of ways to let the EMT's tend to her, she really seemed to need it based on the way she was coughing earlier.

"Jamie, the nurses need to make you feel better, and then you're probably going to talk to a lot of people about what happened. I can be here later, but right now I have to talk to someone too." He pushes some hair out of her face, and the EMT from before comes up behind Jamie and taps her on the shoulder.

"Cmon little one, Mr. Phantom needs to do more hero stuff! I can take care of you until he gets back, okay? We've got to stop that coughing, it probably doesn't feel too good."

Jamie looks at the EMT, and then to Danny. Danny smiles and nods.

"It's alright, I promise."

She lets go of Danny's suit, albeit slowly and hesitantly. She reaches out to the EMT, who also holds her close.

 _She apparently really likes hugs, huh._

Danny gives her a wave and starts to walk back, when he hears a high voice call out to him.

"You better not break your promise Danny!" Jamie yells, followed by more rough coughing. The EMT fusses over her, but Danny laughes and waves again.

"Not on my afterlife, Jamie."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny gives the detective as much information as he can on the fire as well as Jamie's situation. He's extremely thankful for everything Danny's done, as well as his perceptive analysis of the girl. Apparently they had had their eye on that family for awhile due to neighbor concerns that they did indeed leave the girl alone, but there was never enough evidence to start a full investigation into the household. Due to Danny's outstanding reputation, his word held almost as much weight as a police officer's or a doctor's. The Detective (this one's name was Carlyle, but Danny struggled with names. Well, human ones at least) assured Danny that Jamie would get the help she needs.

Danny returned to Jamie to help get testimonies from her about what might be going on at home. She was rather calm about the whole thing, and was indifferent about staying with her parents or leaving them. Most of the psychologists that she spoke to were befuddled by the lack of attachment she had to her own parents, but Danny could sympathize.

Throughout the next few weeks Danny would regularly visit Jamie wherever she was staying at the time. (Amity was a rather close-knit and compassionate city, probably because of the ghost attacks, so there were more than enough foster homes willing to take her in after the display on live television) He thought that it likely had something to do with his obsession, but he didn't care too much since he really did enjoy her huge smile every time he would phase through her wall.

She quickly became popular with other kids and adults alike due to her positive nature and connections to Danny Phantom, so it was no surprise when her foster parents decided to snatch her up and make her a part of their family. She was an amazing addition to their home, and was a natural at welcoming and comforting other kids that ended up in foster care due to other circumstances.

Danny had made it part of his patrols to show up to the home a few times a month to say hi to Jamie and the other foster kids, and had a fuzzy feeling in his chest for days after visiting.

He had decided, that beyond the ghost powers, the new friends, and everything he's done as Danny Phantom, this is one of the things he does that's _most_ rewarding to him.

 **A/N: I loved writing this one, the words just fell out. If there's anything that I got wrong in terms of process or anything that I** _ **should**_ **have put in there, let me know! And of course, if you know someone, anyone, that's in this type of situation** _ **please**_ **never ignore it! There are lots of avenues of help available.**

 **And thank you for the favorites and follows! I love you people! 3**


	5. 4: Spell

**A/N: Here's where things get a-rollin.**

It was a quiet night in Amity Park, as it has been typically lately. The Eastern forests of Amity were known as some of the most truly haunted parts, despite it being almost devoid of people. All types of ghosts were known to appear here at night, even the infamous ghost boy who always seems to just… hover in the sky above the trees, his calm, pulsing glow illuminating the sky.

In this forest, a young teen with long dark brown hair and dressed in all black carefully embeds incense into the dirt on a salt line that draws a perfect circle. Her hair blows gently in the wind as she places each and every one with utmost care, and grimaces when she catches the odor of the sticks. A cat's skull is then placed on the north side, a bowl of pressed and powdered nightshade is placed on the south side. On the east and west, a rod of pure amber and crystal are placed respectively. She stands in the center of the circle and uncorks a dingy and scratched wine bottle. Opening it, she pours the viscous, black liquid onto the center of the circle and sits directly on top of it, marveling at the fact that the ground is as dry as she came to it. Facing the cat (in these rituals, she remembers, it's important to always reference the body's life, as it's much more important than what remains afterwards) she holds a thin, leatherbound book and a single match.

Lighting the match, she hesitates for a second, before steeling herself and igniting a single stick of incense on the northmost side. As soon as a spark of ember appears, the rest of the incense light in the same manner, drawing a perfect ring of glowing orange around the small girl's frame. She pulls back and gasps, before taking a deep breath to calm down.

She lets the match burn out completely before opening the book up to neat pages with lines of text written in a strange language. The girl takes a long sigh before speaking lines that would typically be difficult and nigh impossible in a human tongue with calm and practiced ease.

" _Shla kem essnopke ne mek sho zontar._

 _Shla lepk quod of lepk Kior ne lepk sornardien_

 _Shla lepk souls of lepk Kion ne kem Fornadlen_

 _Shla sern pu ne modraw lepk uri onare bor Kiola_

 _Shla lepk suo opprian pans kurai._

 _Mek sofrox uman._

 _Kem Wor nar serve under mek._

 _Mek fate nar ne kem hroshna._

 _Putdon uo lepk comar io kem Morgal._

 _Lon calbak mek ahn._

 _Yol kem givrom adron sers bolnk trocun Babaln_

 _Kom, tropek trocun lepk polkd io Wulol._

 _mek am mal no zontara roban Babaln_

 _Srol lepk suran Heaven, qualbron sho hor siev trol spelk io Quon,_

 _Appren shu srol lepk ciro io confar,_

 _Defronslor io lepk Holy yabran!"_

Shortly after her incantation is read, all wind surrounding her stops. She freezes and waits, unsure of what might come next, but hopeful all the while. Looking up, she notices that the foul smoke from the incense is rising in faint, straight lines stretching far up past the forest canopy, looking like she's become trapped in a cage of her own creation.

 _Perhaps I am._ She thinks.

After waiting for a while and watching the faint smoke rise, she notices some of it… falling. She doesn't dare move a muscle, but follows the wisp of greyish blue down with her eyes as it drowsily ducks and rolls downwards. The smoke envelopes the cat, and gets sucked in through its gaping eye sockets, rotating within the confines of its skull.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees more movement. She glances down at the north and east sides of the circle and notices the crystals swapping color, the amber slowly losing its color and the quartz slowly gaining it. As soon as they finish, her eyes snap back down to the cat, who's begun to open its mouth and bellow out thick, black smoke.

The girl holds her breath and watches it as it gradually forms into a more and more humanoid shape, head, torso, arms, and a ghostly tail appear and condense into a being that she hopes was the ghost she called for.

Slowly, as more distinguishable features appear, realization and recognition seeps into her mind, and her eyes widen. The ghost opens its own eyes and looks around, seeing the girl below as well as the salt line, incense, and additional components. He furrows his brow, looking rather confused. The girl speaks first.

"I… summoned _you?_ " she asks, more to herself than anyone else.

"You summoned..." the glowing ghost peers around again, seeming to put together the pieces slowly, as if awakened from a peaceful night's sleep. Perhaps he was.

"I can be summoned?" he also asks to the open air, tilting his head to the side like a puppy.

The ghost suddenly gasps, and information floods into his head like a diverted river. The incantation she spoke, the components she used, some faint memories all flash through his mind, as if he was dying all over again. He stares out with glowing glazed eyes, open but seeing nothing.

The girl, on the other hand, is having her own inner turmoil.

 _I… I summoned him? This wasn't supposed to happen. If he finds out what I want to do, he'll-_

"You want to hurt someone." He mentions blankly.

The girl panics. "I… I- I ca- I was j-"

 _He's going to attack me, stop me. I won't be able to complete my goal._

She tries to back away from the ghost but is stopped by the lines of smoke stretching into the night sky. She begins to hyperventilate and spouts excuses nonstop, pleading for forgiveness between each one.

"Stop." The ghost commands, voice echoing and commanding.

The words halt dead in her throat, piling up behind each other until she feels like choking. She can barely breathe, the foul smoke invades her senses but she can do nothing about it as it surrounds her like a noose.

The ghost floats down to her level, it's tail curling into itself the same way a cat's would. The girl presses further into the smoke, but feels as sturdy as the bars of steel it's currently emulating.

"Why?"

She falters at his question and swallows to get past the lump in her throat. Did he just ask that? "Why?" she mimes, unsure of what else to say. The ghost nods.

She turns her head away and relaxes a bit. He didn't seem at all as scary as she thought he always was now that she _really_ looks at him. His gaze is otherworldly, yet curious. His hair flows to an unfelt wind, but his tail taps impatiently as he awaits her response. The corners of her mouth twitch to that.

 _A cat is fitting._ She thinks.

"I…" she looks up at him. At his stare that simply asks for her to speak more. "they hurt me. They took away something- the only thing. They took away the only thing I cared about."

He looks away, eyes again becoming unfocused. "I remember that. It was cruel."

She pulls her arms away from the bars and leans in closer to him. "You remember?" She questions.

The ghost nods. "You've connected us, somehow. I remember some things about you, but nothing specific. When you mention it it jogs my… memory." He hesitates to call it a memory, as it isn't _his_.

"So you know what happened to me? You know what I went through?" Tears build in her eyes.

 _Finally, someone that_ _ **believes.**_

He waits, but eventually answers. "Yes."

The girl lets go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, laughing to herself as it comes out. She brings her legs up into her chest and presses her eyes into her knees, feeling the tears on her skin through the holes in her jeans. She sobs, a light, breathy thing. "You don't know how long I've waited for someone to validate me like that."

The ghost seems to relax to that as well, watching her body shake with the emotions she releases. He can feel the pain coming off of her in waves, and he figures the connection they now have involves emotions, too.

"I can help you." he says, the words raising the girl's head from it's low angle. "It's what you called me for anyways isn't it?" He still doesn't make eye contact with her.

"Y-you can?" she sniffles. "But what I want, it's-"

"It's not going to be your way." he interjects firmly, finally meeting her eyes. "I get to decide how it happens, but your desires will be met. It's part of the deal, anyways. I have to do _something_ , but it doesn't have to be the way you want."

"What… are you going to do?" The girl pulls at a lock of hair anxiously, giving off a sense of her true age despite her tired eyes.

"Also part of the deal-" he says, and extends his hand. "You have to trust me."

She stares at the limb extended out to her. She has a choice, he's giving her a _choice_. She doesn't have to take this deal. She could just turn away and act as if nothing happened.

But he said that they're connected. He remembers her memories, knows her pain. He's the only one that's ever validated the way she feels and knows what truly happened, and understands _why_ she wants help, why she called out to him.

She looks at his hand in a different light, and sees the glowing halo around it. She sees the possibility to have her desires met, as he has the power to do so, but most of all, she sees something that she hasn't seen for a very, very long time…

She sees hope.

The girl looks up at the ghost again and sees her determined expression mirrored on his face, he wants this just as much as she does. He wants to help, to use his power for her.

He smiles.

She takes his hand.

A flash of light envelops them and the wind picks back up. The incense, previously burning at a slow, steady rate, rapidly burns down due to the surplus of oxygen. The smoke surrounds them both, developing into a thick fog, until it rapidly becomes drawn into their forms and vanishes.

"The deal is done." The ghost says.

And he smiles.

The last thing the girl sees is glaring white fangs and red eyes that bore straight into her very soul. Pure fear snakes back into her chest.

And then, she sees nothing.

 **A/N: HOO BOI THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.**

 **Thank you for the favorites and follows guys! I'm super appreciative.**


	6. 5: Chicken

**A/N: Oh, you thought you would figure out who that ghost was in this chapter? Sorry my beautiful people, but you'll have to wait a little longer than that…**

 **or will you?**

Danny was exhausted.

Not necessarily in the negative way, no. It was Wednesday, and his class had a half-day at school due to the freshman pep rally, so they got off of class shortly before lunchtime. Sure, he had to chase down Boxy a few times as well as a big Phoenix thing that kept sleeping out of the thermos somehow, but they didn't _really_ cause too much trouble, and were kind enough to show up either before class or during his study hall, which he could slip away from the easiest.

No, it was Tucker and Sam that really tired him out today.

Don't get him wrong, they're his best friends, he loves them, but sometimes they're just so overwhelming with their over-the-top plans and ideas (that Danny just couldn't deny) Tucker had suggested a 6 hour LAN party of Doomed after they came out with their latest DLC mere hours ago, and begged Danny to use his "ultimate cheat" to help them be the first group to finish it.

So, 6 hours of gaming? No problem. 6 hours of actual fighting, dodging, and using his ghost powers against new video game enemies with weird, unfamiliar mechanics? Not so much. That and the developers apparently caught wind of the strange bugs and hackers in the game, so they put extra care into trying to push anything the game considered as 'foreign' out- AKA Danny- who was assumed to be an aimbot or some other sort of cheating program. It took a bit for Tucker to properly tag his ghost "program" in the system as safe, but even that initial struggle took a lot out of him.

After 4 and a half hours of gaming and one very tired ghost boy, they managed to get the admittedly meaningless title. Tucker was ecstatic, and for that Danny was happy. It _was_ fun, after all. It was easy for Danny to imagine he was just in an extremely advanced VR system. (Well, until he got hit. Some of those attacks _hurt_.) But then, Tucker wanted to go back and grab all the high-level items that they missed on their speedrun- you know, the ones with their _own_ bosses?

So, when Danny plopped himself down at the dinner table with a grimace due to the complaints from his sore and tired body, Jazz pulled out her phone and scoured the local news for what Danny might've gotten into during the day. Finding nothing, she decided on the _second_ best thing, asking him herself.

"You alright, Danny? You look a little worn out." She whispers, trying not to grab the attention of their parents who were hovering about in the kitchen.

He grunts in reply before lying his head down. "Tucker wanted to do a gaming marathon with some 'special cheats'." he holds up half-hearted air quotes. "Think like _Poltergeist_ or something, but, y'know, _not_ murdering actual people... just NPC's."

Jazz nods in agreement, taking a mental note to ask him about it when he's more lucid.

"Danny, I know you're tired from your day off with your friends, but I have to put your plate down." Maddie hovers over the kitchen table while Danny slowly pulls his head up, and a plate is placed in front of him. She then takes her own seat next to Jack.

"Alright kids, eat up! Your father decided to take the reigns with dinner tonight while I was out with Angela, isn't he the sweetest?" She looks up to Jack and pecks him on the cheek.

"Awh baby, you know I'd do anything for you."

They all begin eating while making idle chatter, and Danny is quickly pulled out of his dreamland.

 _This chicken… it's_ _ **really**_ _good!_

"Hey uh... Dad, how did you make this?" Danny says, digging into his drumstick with more energy than he's done anything in the past 3 hours.

Jazz and Jack pause their current conversation for him to send a _huge_ smile over at Danny. "Well Danny-boy, it's an old recipe passed down through the Fenton family line for generations!" He holds up his knife triumphantly. "My grandparents smoked, baked, and grilled some of the _best_ meats in the midwest! I'll pass down the notes that they left down to you two too, someday."

Danny nods but barely registers what his dad says, more focused on his meal than anything else. Maddie picks up the conversation.

"Jack, did you use some sort of citrus? It is rather good, I don't remember your family's recipes ever tasting like this." She prods at her piece, examining it.

"Now now Maddie, you know a Fenton never tells his secrets! Besides, that's a negative. You know we never use _fruit_ in our recipes."

Maddie rolls her eyes. "Well then, I'll just have to have you cook dinner more often then, won't I?" She takes a glance at Jack, who's confident smile is replaced by a nervous one.

"W-well Mads I, uh-"

Meanwhile, Danny has been largely ignoring the present conversation and gets up for seconds. Jazz follows him with her eyes, somewhat concerned with the way his mood took a 180- but chalks it up to teenage mood swings and a hungry, growing ghost boy. She shrugs and the rest of the meal goes rather uneventfully.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"No Tucker, I'm serious- you should come over the next time he makes it. It's _really_ good." Danny sends an ectoblast at an unattentive ectopus, causing it to emit a high pitched screech and hone its sights onto Danny.

Tucker raises an eyebrow. "Danny, your dad's family is from Wisconsin. Their version of 'fine cuisine' is slathering butter, beer, and cheese on something, and _then_ deep-frying it. I think your ghost DNA is messing with your taste buds."

"Yeah Danny, and to be fair, I don't think I would trust your dad near an oven, grill, or frier. Doesn't he blow up something in the lab like, every other week?" Sam tosses Danny a thermos.

"Well, yeah." Danny quickly captures the small ghost as it charges at him in a blind rage. "But I'm telling you Tuck, you should definitely try it out. It was so good that Jazz thought I was nuts for how much I was eating, even _with_ my ghost powers."

A high pitched musical tone interrupts the conversation.

"C'mon guys, you can talk about your gross fascination with meat some other time, if we leave later than this even _you_ won't be able to get us to school on time." Sam sends a pointed look at Danny and slips her phone back into her pocket. They all pick up a light jog heading to Casper High.

They all manage to arrive at their respective classes only briefly before the bell rings, but _before_ still means on time, so as far as the trio is concerned, their teachers' grimaces hold no weight.

Danny's first class was with Mr. Lancer, and he's actually been looking forward to it for once. Shortly after the bell rings a paper is slapped onto his desk with a large, red "B+" written in the top right-hand corner. Danny smiles down at it, and then up at Lancer, who grins briefly before moving on to the next student.

About halfway through class, the loudspeaker to Lancer's room buzzes on, asking for a Mr. Daniel Fenton to come to the main office. Obligatory "Ooooh"'s are heard from the students before Danny hesitantly gets up and begins to walk out of the room.

"Mr. Fenton," Lancer says. "in case I don't see you for the rest of the hour, please come to my office after classes today, I'd like to have a word with you."

"Um… okay Mr. Lancer, I'll be there."

Danny walks out of the room and makes his way to the principal's office, worrying himself more and more with each step.

 _My grades have been fine, I haven't gotten into any fights with Dash, well- not ones where I threw any punches. I haven't been late or missed many classes recently… what could this be about? And Mr. Lancer too, jeez. Gonna think about that for the rest of the day._

Danny quietly pushes open the door to the main office and slinks up to the secretary.

"Hi, uh, I was called to the main office?" He rubs the back of his neck as he makes himself known.

The secretary looks up from her computer screen to take a glance at Danny. "Ah yes Danny, the nurse needs to see you, it's about Jasmine apparently. You can use the side door behind me."

Danny stands up straighter. "Jazz?" he questions, before quickly moving behind the desk and down the back hallway.

Jazz, due to her reluctance to leave Danny all alone with their parents and his struggles as Phantom, has been taking online courses through her chosen Ivy League to get all of her General Education requirements met. On top of that, she's also been racking up volunteer hours through Casper High working as a teaching assistant for a few of the AP programs and lab-based classes. She's at the school frequently enough to keep an eye on Danny and also cover for him if he needs to go ghost at a crucial time, which has previously saved him in a number of situations. Danny feels guilty that she's missing her true college experience by staying with him, but she insists that it's not a problem and would much rather be there for her little brother than go to rowdy college parties anyways.

These thoughts aren't on his mind, however.

 _Why is Jazz in the nurse's office? Why does she need me? I haven't felt a ghost since before class, was it a human? Was it during a lab? How badly?_

Endless possibilities flicker through Danny's brain as he walks the few steps to the door that held all of the answers, and as each second passes that he _doesn't know_ he can feel his core thrumming louder and louder, and he briefly curses himself as he _knows_ the air around him is dropping in temperature.

Danny throws open the door with much more strength than needed and immediately calls out for Jazz, becoming more panicked when he only sees the nurse.

The elderly woman jumps at the sudden noise, but smiles when she sees who it is. "Ah, Danny! For once you show up to my office, come here, I'll show you to your sister." She finishes scribbling some things down on some spreadsheet and hobbles her way to the back of the room where the beds are.

Danny relaxes at the calm state of the woman, Mrs. Barlotta, was it? He figured that if she was this relaxed it couldn't be that serious.

"Thanks… Do you know what happened? Is she alright?" Danny worries his hands as he steps into the room.

She pulls a blanket out from a cabinet and walks over to a pulled curtain.

"Flu-like symptoms. Nausea, migraine, general malaise, chills, some slight delirium, but that could be from the migraine. She'll be fine if she heads to the doctor later today, but she's in no state to drive home, so I called you in. Half-expected you not to show up, boy. Don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking off after I ask to see you." She glares at him over her glasses before opening the curtain to reveal Jazz lying down with her arm over her face. She groans and turns away from the bright light, mumbling something about ghosts. Danny rolls his eyes.

"Cmon Jazz, let's get you home. Mom and Dad can take you to the doctor's then, too." He grabs her arm to pull her up but she weakly yanks it back with a whine. He sighs and shakes his head.

"You're being more immature than me, you know that right?" He pulls the covers off of her and _she didn't even take off her shoes_.

He takes the blanket from the nurse and drapes it over her before lifting her up with ease. The nurse gapes for a moment, looking at the boy that hadn't had a growth spurt since 4th grade carry his sister (who's taller than him by a good few inches) like she was a feather. Jazz was rather naturally thin, but not like that.

"Ah crap, I forgot about her purse. Do you think you could bring it out to the car with me?" Danny asks, snapping her out of her stupor.

"Hm? Oh yes, of course." She picks up the purse that was haphazardly thrown into the corner and follows Danny outside. She shivers at the cool fall air.

Once they reach the car the nurse manages to fish Jazz's keys from her purse and unlock the door, and then Danny carefully lies Jazz in the passenger seat and reclines it as far as it'll go. He takes the keys from the nurse.

"I've already signed Miss Jasmine out, so I'll just leave your pass with the front desk. Grab a jacket when you go home too, boy. We don't need the whole Fenton family getting sick now."

Danny looks down to his typical white and red tee and smiles. "Sure thing Mrs. Barlotta, thanks for the help." He starts up the car and shuts the door, ignoring the mindless babbling from the passenger seat.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Mom, Dad! Jazz is sick so the nurse asked me to take her home!" Danny (after listening to see if his parents were nearby) phases through the front door, moving to place Jazz on the couch. Upon hearing no response but some faint moving upstairs, he heads up to their bedroom.

"Mom? Dad?" He knocks on the doorframe to their bedroom, making himself known in case he was _interrupting_ something.

"Ugh… Danny, is that you?"

Danny steps cautiously into the room. "Mom?"

Both of his parents are lying in their bed, appearing as if they didn't even get up this morning. His dad looks to be dead asleep, but Maddie speaks. "Thank goodness you're here honey, is school over?" Maddie tries to prop herself up onto her elbows, but only manages to half-roll over.

Danny shakes his head and leans on the doorframe. "No, the nurse called asking for me to take Jazz home because she's sick too. Are you guys alright? Is it the flu or something?"

Maddie covers her eyes with her hand. "I'm not sure sweetie, but I have a hunch. I need you to go to the lab and get the Fenton Ecto Scanner for me, it should be on the back shelf near the weapons vault."

Danny nods but rolls his eyes, of course they think it's ghost related. Danny doesn't seem to have whatever they do, but he hasn't been able to get sick with human illnesses since the accident. If it was a ghost sickness then it probably would be able to infect him too, right?

Nevertheless, he agrees, quickly retrieving the requested machine and returning it to Maddie.

She takes it from him while mumbling a weak "Thanks" and turns towards Jack who still hasn't moved a muscle. She presses a button and runs the antenna above his from, waiting for a moment before a small beep sounds. Maddie scowls.

"Mmm, just what I thought. We're contaminated with ectoplasm or ectoenergy of some sort." She points the machine at Danny, and he quickly takes it from her before she can scan him.

"I'll uh, I'll go scan Jazz! Should I put her in her room too, orrrr…" he trails off.

Maddie looks surprised before smiling. _Such a good kid, looking out for his sister._ "Thank you Danny, and just leave her down there, we'll have to go bring everyone into the lab to decontaminate anyways. Make sure you record the amount and intensity, and then you can come back and get my results. From there we need to determine possible sources…" she trails off, and Danny takes that as his cue to go downstairs. He takes Jazz's readings and then his mom's, recording the numbers the scanner spits out before returning to Maddie.

"Hm, low amount, high intensity. Seems like it isn't anything residual in the lab, otherwise your father and I would be less contaminated due to our jumpsuits and it would be a higher cell-count. Your sister has more than me, but less than your father." She pauses and taps a few buttons on the machine.

"Danny, I'm going to scan you as well, so hold still."

"What? M-mom I don't think that's- I feel fine!" He waves his hands in front of him, but hears the beep before he can do anything else. On instinct Danny freezes and tries to suppress his ghost core as much as he can inside of his human body, a trick he picked up when learning how to project his aura. Turns out it works the opposite way, too.

After a moment Maddie pulls the machine back to her face and looks at it closely.

"Hm, looks like you have even more contamination than your father. Are you sure you aren't feeling sick?"

Danny releases a breath and rubs the back of his neck. "No, I feel fine mom, honestly. M-maybe I've built up a tolerance? The school does get attacked more consistently than anything, and it's not like we haven't been sprayed with ectoplasm before from Phantom's… fights." He looks away from his mom, hoping she'll buy the excuse.

Luckily for him, she still seems glued to the scanner's screen. "Could be… well, I'll still have to run a decontamination sequence on all of us to see if that'll help. Maybe I can determine the source by tracking its ectosignature…" Maddie tries to sit up (as she's been lying down during this entire encounter) but her world spins as soon as she goes vertical, and Danny catches her before she falls off of the bed.

"Oh boy, that might not work for a while." Maddie holds her hand to her head, realizing that she's dripping in sweat.

 _Ugh, disgusting._

She kicks off the sheets and groans. Now she's burning up, probably a fever- not good.

"Danny, I'm going to need you to help me get the _Fenton Purifier_ up and running, alright? It's the tent we used when your friends were sick, do you remember how to set it up?"

Danny nods. "Yeah, I do. Will that help?"

Maddie sighs. "Well, it's a start. It should at least reduce the ectoplasmic levels for me and maybe your father to be able to function properly again, and then I can work on a more complete solution."

Danny gently lies his mother back down. "Alright, I'll come get you when it's set up." They exchange quick smiles before Danny heads downstairs. He sighs.

 _Great, a day off and I get to spend it dodging ghost scanners and ecto-purifiers, just my luck._

He was still somewhat skeptical about the sickness being ghostly in nature, but he had to admit the evidence added up. The levels of contamination they had were only marginally lower than what Danny typically had in human form, which definitely wasn't healthy for an average human. Heck, he would be concerned if Sam and Tucker had those levels of contamination, and they spent every day in very close proximity to a powerful ghost core.

No, for once his mom was probably right. They were showing some of the early symptoms of radiation poisoning, which was similar in nature to ectoplasmic contamination. That and, although his parents thought otherwise, their inventions were scarily accurate. The ectoplasm readings were probably correct.

So as he set up the _Fenton Purifier_ , Danny sent a quick text to Sam and Tucker to update them on his disappearance as well as ask them to let the office know what's going on. He'll probably have to have one of his parents or Jazz call in though, since thanks to his running off he's become known for they'd probably be hard-pressed to actually believe anything he or his friends told them.

About three-quarters of the way through his setup, he hears some groaning and whining from upstairs. Assuming it's Jazz, he puts down his tools and heads upstairs.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he notices that her displeased noises are actually _saying_ something.

" _Dannyyyyy, Danny!"_

Jazz looks similar to how his mom did upstairs, the blanket that was provided for her was on the floor, and her skin was pale and had a sheen of sweat across it. Her normally straight, shiny hair was dull and disheveled, likely due to all of the tossing and turning in her unsatisfying slumber.

Danny sits on the arm of the couch next to her head and leans over her. "Yeah? I'm here. You okay?"

Jazz opens her eyes enough to give him a half-hearted glare. He laughs.

"Sorry, standard question."

Jazz slowly reaches out to Danny with one of her hands, seeming like she's asking for something. Confused, Danny grabs her hand with his and raises an eyebrow in a question. She pulls his hand down to her forehead and flattens his palm against it. She's burning up.

 _Ah._

Danny uses a sliver of energy from his cold core and sends it through to his hand. Jazz's reaction is almost instant, letting out a satisfied sigh and relaxing. The hand that was holding Danny's flops down onto her stomach, and she lies there contentedly.

Danny sits there for awhile, happy to simply relax in the company of his sister, but soon realizes he has to get the purifier up and running to at least try to cure them. He removes his hand from his sister's forehead and receives another whine in response.

"Sorry Jazz, got to set everything up to fix you guys. We don't need more halfas running around."

She whines again and Danny heads to the kitchen to grab her an ice pack. He walks back to her and puts it on her forehead. Jazz grimaces, but accepts the gift.

Danny walks back downstairs and finishes his task, even setting up the beds that they used for Sam, Tucker, and Vlad for their future occupants. He ensures that everything is airtight and runs a preliminary test. Upon making sure everything is working properly, he then returns to Maddie.

Who just happens to be knocked out as well.

 _Guess I'll ask her to call the school later._

He nudges his mom a few times to ensure she's completely out (to which she only responds with a groan) and gently lifts her up. Danny debates walking all the way down to the lab, but shrugs and phases through anyways, placing her in the first empty bed. Anything she might remember he could probably blame on hallucinations anyways.

He does the same with Jazz and his dad (thank god he had enhanced strength) before scanning them with the _Fenton Ghost Analyzer_ to record the ectosignature of whatever contamination they might have, and then walks out of the Purifier.

He runs a second decontamination (he has to remember to put a HAZMAT on before heading in there again) and transfers the ectosignature data to the ghost tracker, the _Fenton Finder_ his parents commonly use. (Turning off the sassy voice, of course. That thing could be more hurtful than helpful sometimes)

Danny snickers at the irony of a ghost using a ghost tracker before seeing three blips on the screen, two fainter than the other, and all of them _very_ close by.

Danny decides to follow the larger blip first, which leads him to the lab refrigerator. He opens the door and scowls at the row upon row of test tubes and beakers that contain both active and inactive ectoplasm.

 _Is this… this is probably the source._

He glances back down at the tracker before panicking a little bit, as one of the fainter blips seems to have followed him.

 _Ghost?_ He thinks, but no, his ghost sense hasn't gone off yet. He closes the refrigerator door and circles around himself before almost facepalming. He flips the scanner around and points it at his body, rolling his eyes at the incessant beeping it gives off when the antenna faces him.

 _Duh, I'm "contaminated" too. But how…?_

He decides to give up on the fridge, definitely not in the mood to scan each and every container, and follows the third blip which was upstairs.

Upstairs, he walks around playing hot and cold with the scanner until he comes upon his destination.

 _The kitchen refrigerator?_

He stares in confusion at the tracker and it's target, making 100% sure that yes, it was targeting the _kitchen_ refrigerator _._

Danny sighs a defeated, heavy sigh and opens the fridge door, already making conclusions as to what probably happened. He pulls out a container, opens it, and points the tracker at it, unsurprised when the beeping returns.

 _I'm not even going to ask_ _ **how**_ _it happened._

Danny closes the Tupperware container full of yesterday's chicken, throwing it on the kitchen table and returning downstairs. He throws on a HAZMAT and catches a glance of his reflection in a monitor.

 _Well, if they don't recognize the similarity now, I doubt they will anytime soon._

Danny had been ready to tell his parents about his secret for awhile, but kind of wanted them to figure it out themselves. He wasn't sure if it'll turn out better or worse that way, but had enough faith in his parents that they would probably accept him with a little convincing. Sure, the fear that they _would_ reject him was very much still there, but he was rational enough to realize that those odds were quite low, especially if they found out in a neutral way like just _happening_ to connect the dots between his human and ghost form.

So, he zips up the suit and walks into the Purifier, feeling the brief discomfort of walking into a room completely clear of ectoplasm. It kind of felt like taking a step into a desert, the dry air stinging his eyes and drying his mouth almost instantly, but after a moment the ghost boy adjusts and walks up to his mom to scan her ectoplasmic levels.

The beeping rings throughout the room again, and his Mom's eyes flutter.

"Danny?"

"Hey, mom."

She slowly attempts to sit up again while Danny walks over to Jazz and Jack, scanning each of them as well.

"Oh Danny look at you, my sweet little boy in a HAZMAT! Your father is going to be so excited when he gets up."

Danny smiles awkwardly while fiddling with the small machine. "Well, I um, I already managed to clear myself, just some time in here and my levels are back to normal, so I figured I should… probably put one on so I don't get re-contaminated." He walks back over to his mom who rustles his hair.

"Gosh, I remember when I made that for you. That must be your first time wearing it too, huh?"

" _Oh… you'd be surprised."_ He mumbles under his breath.

"What was that sweetie?"

"Nothing! I'm just surprised how well it fits after all these years."

Maddie laughs. "Well I'm sure that you'll get your growth spurt before the end of high school. You definitely have your father's genes, after all."

"Hopefully. I'm not looking forward to buying an entire new closet of clothes within the span of three months though."

They both chuckle a bit, and then Maddie slowly makes an attempt to stand. Danny watches her like a hawk, preparing to catch her at a moment's notice.

"Oh, uh… I think I found the source of the contamination." Danny mentions.

"Oh really? That's fantastic! What is it?" She grabs onto Danny's shoulder to steady herself, but manages to stand alright, if not a little shaky.

"Remember the chicken that dad made last night?"

She stops moving, and Danny even feels her shaking cease.

"Yeaaaahhh…" he drones off. She can figure out the rest, he figures.

Maddie pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs.

"Danny, I need you to go out into the lab and bring me a few things, and wake your father up."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

After a while, his parents were easily able to make an ingested solution that cleared their systems of any and all ectoplasmic particles, (that Danny had narrowly avoided taking) curing their sicknesses by the end of the day. His mom had a long talking to with his dad, but since he wasn't the _only_ family member to imbue their dinner with ectoplasm, she really couldn't say much.

Jazz however, had a field day. Danny left the room as she was reaming out their parents, starting up a group call with Sam and Tucker.

"Hey guys… yeah, I'm good. You won't believe what happened though." He pauses.

"Well… Let's just say I figured out why this chicken is so good." He walks upstairs to his room, carrying a large plate in one hand.

"Tuck, let me assure you, you _don't_ want the recipe."

 **A/N: A longer chapter, yay! Thanks for the wait!**

 **I always thought that Danny knew how to use each and every one of the Fenton inventions rather well, since he's seen on their computers regularly enough.**

 **Anyways, more family fluff! I feel like the Fenton family is represented as objectively negative aspects in Danny's life, (aside from Jazz) but I think they really do love their kids. Ghosts just… kinda get in the way of things sometimes.**


	7. 6: Drooling

**A/N: Short and sweet? We'll see.**

Ah, Bio 2, the one class that Danny has with both Sam and Tucker, _and_ the one class that Danny was naturally decent at this semester.

Well, naturally probably isn't the correct word. He wasn't amazing at it before the accident, he was more of a chem guy, but after he started ghost fighting these sorts of things just kind of… clicked.

Maybe it came with the semi-regular perusing of videos that are medical in nature. Danny clicks on a video about binding a wound that interests him and could possibly be useful after ghost fights, and the recommended videos distract him for an hour or two. Well, that is… until he gets to the weird part of YouTube where they have full-blown surgeries and stuff. Can they even show that on there?

Nevertheless, he's excelling. Rarely having to study, having little homework, and more in-class labs allowed Danny to maintain a decent grade even when the ghost-getting was tough. Now he can maintain a _solid_ A without much work.

But… he does tend to slack off sometimes.

"Hey Danny, you better get off your phone, he's going to describe the instructions now." Sam nudges him in the shoulder to grab his attention, but ultimately fails.

"Uh huh" he mumbles, barely noticing the disturbance. Sam rolls her eyes, reaching over him to poke Tucker. He looks at Sam, who gestures to Danny with her eyes.

Tucker looks over at the distracted ghost boy and simply steals his phone from him, securing it in one of the pockets of his cargo pants.

"I- Hey- Tuck!" Danny whispers. "We're just doing blood testing, it isn't even that complicated. The lab sheet has all the instructions on it!" Danny reaches for the pocket of Tucker's shorts, trying to get his phone back.

Tucker turns away. "You should still pay attention, how are we going to-" he glances at Danny's mouth. "Uh, dude? You're drooling. A lot."

Danny momentarily forgets the struggle with his phone and wipes his mouth. He is indeed drooling.

Sam looks at Danny as well to see what's going on. "Oh boy, it's green too. And…" she squints at his face. "Glowing?"

"Yeaaah, this hasn't happened before." Danny looks at the substance smeared on his hand. It's quite a lot thinner and more translucent than ectoplasm, but it's still ectoplasmicly based. (Is that a word?) It does have a faint glow to it, too.

"Foley! Fenton! Manson!"

All of them snap to attention at the teacher's bellowing voice. Danny quickly shoves his hand under the lab table.

"I honestly couldn't care less if you don't want to pay attention, but _please_ do not disrupt my class with your talking."

Sam speaks up. "Sorry Mr. Marx, won't happen again."

He nods and goes back to writing on the whiteboard. Meanwhile, Tucker takes a quick photo of the smear on Danny's hand. (While he intangibly steals his phone back from Tucker)

Sam gets Danny's attention again and gestures for him to open his mouth. He takes another glance at Mr. Marx, who's still writing instructions furiously, and opens.

Sam simply looks for some time before grabbing her notebook and scribbling something down. She pushes it to Danny and Tucker.

 _Looks like it's stopped, but your canines look sharper too, and your tongue is less pink and more grey, and pointed a little... I think?_

Danny reads the note and holds his head in his hands, making little, frustrated noises all the while. After a bit, he writes back.

 _great, another thing I have to hide. When does this stuff even happen?!_

He pushes the note back to Sam, rubbing his face with his hands. Tucker reaches over and slides the notebook back to himself. He scrawls something down and then passes it back in front of Danny.

 _don't worry dude, we got your back. :)_

Sam reaches over and writes something as well.

 _Of course! Plus, it seems like it's only noticeable if you're really looking for it. We'll talk to Jazz tonight, maybe she has some insight._

Danny sighs and smiles sadly at both of them. He grabs his pencil, hesitates, and then writes.

 _Thanks, guys._

"Alright students, I want this done by the end of the period. That leaves you half an hour to record each of your results and turn it in, understand?"

Some of the class responds, and then faint murmurs can be heard as everyone gets to work.

"So, as I was saying before." Tucker turns to Danny. "How is _your_ blood testing going to work?"

 **A/N: Uh oh, what's happening to Danny?**

 **Are you guys interested in the story so far? Anything you think I should address/anything confusing! REVIEW!  
I promise I take criticism real well, don't be afraid to say anything. :3**


	8. 7: Star

**A/N: Oh my god~ what a perfect prompt.  
I feel like Star is one of the Phandom's favorite side characters. There's so much that can be done with her!**

 **Funkatron: Thank you for your review! I like it when fluff is scattered throughout the story, and I do intend to keep the comedic bits plentiful as well. While I love me some angst, I want to keep things more adventure-y than just 'Danny gets experimented on'. My poor baby deserves better!**

Star considered herself one of the smarter students at Casper High, and definitely the smartest of the A-List, at least in GPA. (Paulina had her moments. She didn't necessarily get the highest of grades, but when she wanted to take advantage or get back at someone, she'd concoct plans all the way from A to Z and make sure each one made your life worse than the last. Whatever anyone thought of Paulina, that took wit, knowledge, and skill… if not ill-placed.)

And no, Star couldn't beat out the historic career of Jazz Fenton, but she was fine and even _thankful_ for that. Even though she was on the cheer squad, being the center of attention wasn't necessarily for her. Of course she wanted recognition and admiration, but she was completely content with being in the shadow of someone else's work, with her only having to reap the rewards. Plus, if the rest of the A-List knew that she was _that_ much of a nerd, they would have shoved her out of the sweet life faster than you could say 'multi-textured perm'.

Star, unlike most of the rest of the A-List, knew that high-school was just the stepping stone to a new and better life. Unlike middle school (where the only requirement is that you pass), a high GPA in high school can get you more scholarships, which can get you into a better school, which can get you a better degree, and, most importantly, a better job. She's _not_ going to be the type of person that peaked in high school and she's _not_ going to be stuck working at the Nasty Burger for the rest of her life. No, she has places to go.

So yes, she does consider herself one of the smarter members of her group, but she wouldn't think of it as arrogance. (And she wasn't an arrogant person, honestly.) It was just accepting that there is more beyond the cliques and boredom of high-school and rightfully preparing for that future.

It's for these reasons that when she heard Danny and his friends bickering at the lab table beside her, she turned to throw a scowl at their way for interrupting the lecture… but they were too preoccupied with looking at their phones and poking each other to… wait, was that… is Danny drooling while looking at his phone? That kid can _really_ zone out sometimes, it's actually kind of impressive.

Tucker seems to notice his friend's inattentiveness and quickly snatches the distracting device out of his friend's hands, this action being met with _strong_ protests from Danny. Star looked on this with a bittersweet combination of contempt and longing, annoyed by their distraction but admiring that strong bond they all seem to share that was well-known by everyone at Casper. That was… lacking in her world. People were very quick to cast people out if they had different lifestyles or viewpoints, Valerie being a prime example. Oh well, once she gets out of here and heads to college it'll all be behind her.

Suddenly, Tucker seems to become distracted himself and points at Danny's face. Star giggles lightly as Danny notices how he was drooling and hastily wipes it from his mouth.

 _Can't say I haven't been there before._

Weirdly enough, this rather typical and playful banter takes a nose-dive into the weird and creepy when all three of them stop to _stare at the drool on Danny's hand_. She knew those kids were weird, heck, _everyone_ knew that they were weird, but this had to be crossing some sort of line, right?

She catches a glimpse of it when Danny leans his hand towards Sam, and the light catches it ever so nicely enough that she notices the vibrant color reflecting back at her.

 _His drool is… green?_

They're all whispering now, but she can't quite make out what they're saying. She leans closer to the trio to try to hear and see what's going on but is snapped back into place when she hears Mr. Marx yelling at them from across the room. Her eyes remain glued to them, however. Her head only angling down to the paper in front of her in a feeble attempt to make it _not_ obvious she was staring.

Danny quickly shoves his hand behind the lab table to conceal whatever green smear was on his hand, and as Star follows it with her eyes she can notice a faint emerald light being emanating from it underneath the darkness of the table. She could easily suspend her disbelief and say it was a trick of the light, her being paranoid, etc., but in Amity Park it was better to be cautious and thoughtful about these things, and her thoughts were only screaming one thing.

 _Ectoplasm_.

She and anyone else with a brain in this school (which, admittedly, are very few) have seen ectoplasm enough to know it _very_ well. A green substance that glows? Ectoplasm. Something glowing? Probably based on ectoplasm. Just green and splattered on a wall? Inactive ectoplasm. Floating? Ectoplasm. It's a theme, unfortunately.

There was one thing that made her question this theory, however. The smear came from Danny's _mouth_. Active ectoplasm is essentially a radioactive substance, any contact with it can do a number of things from cell deterioration and cancer to delirium and a rash. The latter was much more common, but the former has been said to have happened on a number of occasions, enough that any active ectoplasm that was left at a scene had to be cleaned up by personnel that are 'highly trained'. (usually the Fentons) Anybody that was sprayed with the stuff had to report to them within the next few hours for treatment, which is usually just some sort of topical ointment the Fentons developed. Enough people were afraid of the consequences that they went without much questioning or protest, and it's not like they charged people for the service.

So the fact that it was coming from Danny's mouth was rather concerning. Star thought about telling Mr. Marx about it, but Danny's parents were the ecto-experts, right? He'll probably just tell them about it when he gets home, or use some of that ointment that they hand out, and should be fine. Probably. If it was even ectoplasm.

(Un)surprisingly enough, the infamous trio continues their distracting behavior sans the speaking bit even after whatever Mr. Marx yells at them, taking photos and pantomiming to each other anyway. But then, they take their weirdness a step further, _somehow_. Danny turns his stool towards Sam (and essentially Star as well) and opens his mouth, and the goth peers into it closely.

 _What the_ _ **hell**_ _are they doing during class? This is ridiculous!_ Star's mouth almost falls open at their strange display, but she catches herself.

 _Wait._ She thinks. _He was drooling ectoplasm…_ Star takes a risk and leans back to get a better view as well, intrigued by whatever strange things might be going on. Did he get ectoplasm in his mouth during a ghost fight? No, she hadn't heard of one yet today, otherwise the Twitter page specifically dedicated to that would have notified her. She felt like that was reaching a bit, anyways.

Was he contaminated and it was a side-effect? Possibly, there was that incident where everyone was infected by ghost bugs and it gave us all weird ghostly effects, but they'd probably be more concerned about that, right? And anyways, you could _feel_ it when they were inside of you- really any time a ghost possessed you it felt like there was something… foreign and cold close to your heart. It's not a pleasant experience. If you were possessed you'd want to do something about it ASAP, not just sit and stare at its results.

As Star was running through the list of possible reasons in her head and ordering them from 'impossible' to 'eh, it was Amity', her thoughts were halted when she saw those unnaturally long canines protruding out of Danny's top and bottom teeth. There were a lot of things about the Fenton family that were unusual, but this goes beyond unusual, it's… _otherworldly_. There's a possibility that he could have just been born with them, but with the way Sam was inspecting his mouth…

Well, to be honest, Sam could just be checking for more green.  
 _Have to anticipate all possible outcomes, Star. Don't jump to conclusions._

During this weird exchange, Star looks around the room. While many students weren't paying attention to the lecture by being on their phones or doodling in their notebook, _none of them_ are noticing the exchange happening in the corner of the room, even after Marx yelled at them.

 _Literally oblivious._ She rolls her eyes.

Looking back towards the trio's table, she sees them passing notes back and forth to one another with Danny looking more and more dismayed as time passes. Something's definitely up, but Star's too far away to read what's written to get any more information. It's then when Mr. Marx decides to interrupt her casual spying for the second time.

"Alright students, I want this done by the end of the period. That leaves you half an hour to record each of your results and turn it in, understand?"

Star finally looks back to her lab materials and sighs. This curiosity is literally killing her, and she didn't even _like_ cats.

"It's just simple blood testing, we can do mine first." Star quickly pricks her finger with the lancet and places a drop on each sheet, already becoming annoyed with overhearing everyone freak out about how they have to see blood or how much it's going to hurt. Her lab partners are Dale and Nathan, and she's at least semi-confident that they'll be able to do their own work without her help. Well… _they_ as in Nathan doing both Dale's and his, but she wasn't particularly concerned with that as long as it got done. She pulls the used needle out of the device and puts it on a napkin, passing the reusable bit to Nathan, going back to observing the table beside her.

The three talk amongst each other for a little bit before they all seem to come to some sort of conclusion. Danny raises his hand while the other two fiddle with the lancing device.

"Mr. Marx, can I go to the bathroom?"

 _Classic Danny_.

Marx glances over to Danny and waves him off while continuing to talk to a different group. Danny leaves, uttering a quick "Be back soon" to his friends. Sam flips the page in her notebook and starts writing down a template for the lab. Star's eyes narrow.

 _I bet that notebook has something in it about Danny._

Now, Star was no novice when it came to snooping, she had to help Paulina out with it regularly after all. She found that finding, blackmailing, and revealing people's secrets was a pretty immoral thing to do, and usually tries to convince Paulina away from it when she can. In this case, however, she was only doing it to satisfy her own curiosity and had no plans to tell anybody about the Fenton kid's weirdness unless it was harming himself or anyone else. It probably wouldn't be difficult, either.

Star gets up from her seat and walks over to Mr. Marx, knowing she has limited time. She stands next to him and waits until he turns his attention to her.

"Yes, Star?"

"Hi Mr. Marx, do you think you can talk to Tucker and Sam again because they were being really distracting during your lecture, even after you asked them not to."

He narrows his eyes at them from across the room. "Alright, thank you for letting me know, I'll talk to them in a second."

Star turns on her heel. "I can let them know you want to see them, thanks!" She speedwalks over to their group, not giving him a chance to object.

Star leans on Tucker and Sam's table and looks at her phone, acting as nonchalant as she could. "Mr. Marx asked me to tell you to go talk to him, apparently it's about before."

Sam grunts and rolls her eyes. "Wait here Tucker, I'll be right back."

"He said he wants _both_ of you."

Sam glares at Star, who simply meets her gaze and shrugs. She grunts even louder before beckoning Tucker and heading across the room, but _not_ before the creepy technogeek wiggles his eyebrows at Star. Gross.

After they leave Star is quick to jump into action, flipping the page of the notebook and taking a burst of photos of the conversation with her phone. She then flips the page back and walks back to her station as if nothing happened, leaning up against the wall and immediately opening the images.

"Star, what are you doing?"

Star looks up from her phone to see Nathan staring at her quizzically and Dale looking up from his own phone to do the same. She pauses.

"Something for Paulina" she quickly spins "mind your own business, _Nathan_. Aren't you supposed to be doing Dale's lab anyway?"

Dale directs his attention to Nathan, scowling and hassling him for slacking off. She tones them out and manages to find the clearest image, flipping it around to read it at the right angle.

Sam and Tucker appear back at their table right when Danny walks in the room and they immediately pull him aside to whisper to him, presumably about what happened based on their glares towards Star, but she couldn't care less about that.

 _Looks like it's stopped, but your canines look sharper too, and your tongue is less pink and more grey, and pointed a little... I think?_

 _great, another thing I have to hide. When does this stuff even happen?!_

 _don't worry dude, we got your back. :)_

 _Of course! Plus, it seems like it's only noticeable if you're really looking for it. We'll talk to Jazz tonight, maybe she has some insight._

 _Thanks, guys._

Star is pretty sure she can tell who wrote what based on the handwriting (already knowing the absolutely awful one is Tucker's, thanks to him being in her English and her having to grade his prompts) and she can't help but read and reread the conversation.

 _So, this teeth thing_ _ **is**_ _a new development, and Danny didn't even know about it. What does he mean by 'another' thing to hide? Does he really have some huge secret? I thought that was just gossip…_

Of course, Danny's disappearing acts have been noticed by a fair number of students at Casper, as well as the fact that he sometimes comes back looking like he'd been hit by a truck. A number of hypotheses have been mentioned, he might be working for a gang, dealing drugs, fighting ghosts, _possessed_ by a ghost, part of an underground fight club, _is_ a ghost, has some weird deal with the teachers, home abuse, and self-harm, and each one has a list of 'evidence' behind it. Nobody _really_ cared, it was all just something that the teenagers do to pass the time, but Star can't help but get drawn into the mystery now that she likely knows a fair amount more than anyone else.

What _is_ Danny Fenton's secret?

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Star sits in her next class just as distracted as she's been the entire day, it definitely doesn't help that she has to stare at the back of her mystery's head for the whole period. She looks down at her notebook.

Fight club

Gang

Dealing drugs

Doing drugs

Abuse

Bullies

Self-harm

Is a ghost

Possessed by ghosts

Working for ghosts

Threatened by ghosts

Fighting ghosts

 _Of course, the ones that are left are ghost related. Amity in a nutshell._ Star sighs.

She could rule out most of the less paranormal options simply due to Danny's personality. He was a quiet kid, but in the few times she spoke to him he really did seem pretty nice, if not a little oblivious and naive. She can't see him willingly doing anything for a gang or dealing drugs, and doing them is probably out of the question too. That and they don't explain the 'drooling ectoplasm' thing or the fangs, so she nixed them.

And then the ghost theories. Even though most people at Casper knew the basics of ghosts, they really didn't know anything beyond that. Danny _was_ the Fenton's son, he could be in contact with ghosts far more than any of the other students would be, so maybe it's a side effect of being around ectoplasm all the time? If that's the case, then why wouldn't he just ask his parents to fix him instead of hiding it? The note mentioned them talking to Jazz, who everyone knew was displeased with her parents' strange profession. Why wouldn't he talk to the ghost experts? They probably don't know.

Then there's the darker ideas. The fact that he might actually be possessed by a ghost or even _has been replaced_ long-term. That would explain the need to hide the strange occurrences from his ghost-hunting parents, but then why would Sam and Tucker, who've been friends with Danny even before this ghost stuff all happened, be working with it?

No matter how much Star racked her brain for answers, nothing made sense, she needed more information. Sure, it would be easy enough to just ignore it all and move on with her life, but this is one of the most interesting things that she's stumbled upon in a while. While ghost attacks and whatnot is probably what most people would call 'interesting', to Amity it was just a minor inconvenience. It became boring after a few months, and even the larger ghost attacks haven't happened for a long time anyway. It'll at least be a distraction for the boring monotony of school life.

As Lancer was ending their history lecture on the Napoleonic wars, the bell finally rang for lunch. Danny got up immediately, and Star packed up her things as quickly as possible, completely intending to follow him.

Before a hand appeared on her shoulder.

"Hey, Star... right? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Star looks over her shoulder to see a shorter girl with long, brown, straight hair looking up to her. She vaguely recognizes her from her other classes, but she's usually pretty quiet. Star thinks she's seen her with Sam a few times, at least in the past, and knows that some of the popular girls used to give her grief for being a scene/goth type kid.

Star looks over to Danny, who has already met up with the other two of the trio, and sighs. She drops her books back on her desk.

"Is there something you need? I'd like to get to lunch." she says, a hint of frustration in her voice.

The girl smiles sweetly and, dang. She could have definitely been in the popular troop if she dropped all of the black dresses and creepy jewelry, she was pretty. The goth girl pulls herself up to whisper into Star's ear, a gust of cold air snaking out of her mouth and making Star shiver.

"Stay away from Danny Fenton, or _you'll_ be the next mystery that this town will never solve."

The girl leans away and looks her dead in the eyes. Star freezes, her whole body tensing in primal fear. She lets go of her shoulder, and the girl's black dress flutters as she walks away, leaving Star alone in an empty classroom.

 **A/N: Boy that was hard to write, and I have no clue why. Anything constructive would be wonderful!**

 **Updates are going to slow down for the next week or two, as I've got a** _ **lot**_ **of school stuff to take care of. It should still be at least once a week though, so stay tuned!**


	9. 8: Exhausted

**A/N: And I'm back! Thanks for the wait guys, this past week has been super hectic. Updates should be coming back much more frequently again.**

"Keep an eye on Star too Danny, she's been acting weird lately."

"What, you mean the stuff from last class? Sam, seriously, I'm sure she was just annoyed with you guys being stupid with each other. She is _right_ next to us and already has to deal with Dale being an idiot."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were back in Biology, and of course, the topic of choice was the strange events that ended up getting them detention the afternoon before.

"Well, I suggest that if you'd like to not get another detention we keep it down and actually work on our lab. Thank goodness it isn't needles or blood again." Tucker shivers as he arranges his goggles over his glasses. Danny laughs.

"Dude, you see ghost blood on a daily basis, and you're still freaked out by a drop of human blood?" Danny teases.

Tucker shakes his head. "It's… different. It's still hard for me to grasp the fact that you bleed glowing green stuff." He pauses and points at Danny. "It kind of reminds me of those slime videos online."

"Tucker!" Sam elbows him in the ribs while Danny simply raises an eyebrow.

"Glorious, I'm glad my blood reminds you of a middle-school fad."

The three of them are promptly interrupted by a puff of frosty breath and a chill. Danny tilts his head and stares down at the table, focusing on his surroundings.

"Who is it?" Sam asks, leaning in.

"Not sure, feels like someone stronger. Maybe Ember or Technus. I'll send a duplicate out, be right back."

Danny briefly walks out of the classroom, mumbling something to Mr. Marx who only responds with a dismissing wave. He returns a minute or so later and takes a seat at his lab table, albeit, a bit more distracted than he was before.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

While a human Danny sits lazily at a lab table, a blur of black and white shoots off through the roof of the school. He takes in the full breadth of his surroundings and notices Ember looming above him in the sky, her brows knitted together and a frown on her face.

Danny morphs his tail back into legs and floats up to her, crossing his arms.

"What's up one-hit-wonder, haven't seen you around lately. Taking some time to reinvent yourself?" He quips, getting right into the banter. He hasn't had a good fight in a while, and he _was_ getting kind of restless.

Ember growls and readies her guitar. "Not in the mood baby-pop. Let's just cut to the _chase_!" She sends out a red chord of energy towards Danny that he dodges, but it acts as a homing missile and turns in a wide arc to focus back on him. He frowns and speeds away, flying faster than the glowing red projectile following him.

"Taking tips from your boyfriend now, huh?" he flies around in a large figure-eight, letting the chord follow him harmlessly.

Ember plucks a few more strings that emit dozens of smaller, faster notes. They fly out in all directions, seemingly aimlessly, before homing in on Danny from all angles.

He manages to block a few with small shields, but soon there prove to be too many for him to keep up with, and every once in a while he gets hit. His speed starts to reduce during the onslaught and he notices that the original one she sent out is gaining on him, fast.

 _Gotta make a choice._

Danny halts and projects a large shield to block the largest chord, but the majority of the small notes still hit him from other angles. He grimaces, but they're more like minor inconveniences than anything. The large chord collides with Danny's shield and dissipates along with his shield. He takes a breath.

"Catchy, but not my taste, got anything bett-"

A deep, gruesome tune rings through the air as Ember's guitar hits Danny _hard_ in the back of the head, and he plummets towards the ground. He turns himself intangible at the last second and flies through the earth, searching for the perfect place to pounce.

"First Skulker, now you? What's gotten into people lately?"

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

" _Danny? Danny!"_

" _I'm not sure if he can hear us Sam..."_

" _He should be able to, unless something's going wrong out there."_

Sam and Tucker whisper back and forth to each other while attempting to figure out their next course of action. Since Danny split, this half of him has been getting more and more unresponsive, suggesting he's having some difficulty with whoever he's fighting outside. Currently, he's clasping the sides of his head with his hands, leaning on the lab table, and staring into nothingness. Every once in a while it would seem like his form… flickers in places, too. Needless to say, his friends were concerned.

" _Dude, just get out of here if you need to."_

" _Tucker, I don't think he can. We might have to-"_

"MANSON, FOLEY, FENTON! Do you need _another_ detention?!"

Both of them snap to attention, and Sam again quickly speaks up.

"Sorry Mr. Marx, Danny's not feeling well so we're gonna take him to the nurse, bye!" Sam and Tucker move around the lab table, grab their still unaware friend by the arms and drag him out of the classroom. Mr. Marx moves to say something, but shrugs and moves on to the next group.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny manages to get a few hits in on Ember, but the blows they trade are anything but even. Ember repeatedly rings out as many attacks as she can as fast as she can, and they easily overwhelm Danny who's getting more and more worn out as the fight goes on. His suit has scattered burns and tears in it, and his snow-white hair is stained green from the repeated hits to the head.

Worse yet, Ember strangely seems to be getting stronger, her blue hair blazing brightly in the sky as the fight goes on. There weren't many people noticing the fight so far… this… isn't how her obsession is supposed to work.

 _I barely have time to counter-attack. I need to get on the offensive somehow. It doesn't help that I have to keep up this damn duplicate…_

Danny flies down into the earth to buy himself some time to create a few ice crystals with his cryokinesis. A deafening rumble vibrates through the ground and his ghostly body, Ember wants him out.

 _Impatient little-_

Almost feeling as if he'd be ripped apart by the deep sounds, Danny grimaces and emerges with a handful of glimmering blue gems.

 _I really don't want to do this, it could seriously hurt her… but at this rate, I don't have a choice._

The game of cat-and-mouse continues as soon as he reaches open air, and Danny pumps all of his energy into keeping the following red notes off of him while moving to sail over Ember on the ground. One by one he drops the small crystals directly above her, knowing full well she can't keep her concentration on her notes and dodge at the same time.

Ember notices the falling shards of ice and stops her onslaught to attempt to jump out of the way, but doesn't move fast enough. As soon as they hit the ground (or her) they explode, leaving Danny enough time to swoop down and finally make this a more even fight.

 _I guess mom and dad's ectoplasm research does come in handy sometimes._

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Tucker and Sam drag Danny into the boy's bathroom right when the ghost alarm goes off. A crackling female voice on the PA system alerts the students to evacuate the school grounds, but Tucker and Sam tone it out. They move into a stall and plop duplicate Danny down on the toilet seat before surveying their options.

"We've gotta figure out how to get to Danny, this seems way worse than he thought it would be." Sam brushes her fingertips over a bit of Danny's skin that looks to be… burnt?

"We can't just leave his duplicate here though, it's barely functioning as-is, and he isn't answering his phone so we can tell him to get rid of it. If someone finds him like this that would probably mean bye-bye ghost secret."

"Or… extensive testing."

They both exchange a look. A few explosions can be heard from outside. Tucker sighs.

"One of us can go, and the other can stay here until it- he… whatever- poofs." He says, gesturing towards the blank-eyed Danny.

Sam pauses, staring at Danny for a moment, then starts to dig in her backpack.

"Or, we can get rid of the duplicate immediately and both of us can go help Danny."

She pulls out her lipstick blaster and wrist-ray and points the former at Danny's head.

"Sam!" Tucker reaches out to stop her, but he's too late.

Sam fires.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Outside, the ghost alarm blares and Danny and Ember have moved to close-counters combat, finally making the fight a bit more even. Usually, Danny wouldn't have an issue taking care of Ember and getting her to leave without using too much force, but for some reason she's refusing to back down. Both members of the battle have a myriad of injuries, some more serious than others, but both well past the point that they would ever want to take their fights in the past. It doesn't help that Danny neglected to bring a thermos. Again.  
 _Hopefully Sam and Tucker turn up soon. I don't know how much I can keep this up._

Ember swings her guitar sideways like an axe to try to catch Danny's more injured left side, but he pulls up a shield to deflect it once again. Her weapon ricochets off of it and Danny uses her lack of balance to send the guitar flying with a strong and well-placed ectoblast. Ember seethes.

" _Ecro molte du, Phantom!"_ She lunges towards Danny with her arms covered in blue flames, tackling him to the ground and clawing at his throat.

 _Sh- she's speaking in ghost speak?!_

Danny chokes past her tight grip and pleads.

"Emb...er! Stop! What- what's wrong with you?!"

" _Em na ronde higne storde!"_

 _Power? What about power?!_ Danny looks up to her flames and notices that they're larger than ever, at this rate he knows that he won't be able to fight her if it continues.

Suddenly, he feels a cool chill run through his body like a breath of fresh air, and the heat from Ember's flames doesn't feel nearly as suffocating as before.

 _My strength… the duplicate!_

Danny grins and unleashes a pulse of frost from his body, loosening Ember's grip and finally giving him enough strength to unleash his trump card.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Phantom!"

Tucker and Sam run out of the gym doors, panting and barreling through people trying to get to the front of the crowd.

"Thermos!" Sam yells behind her. Tucker chucks the hunk of metal forward, Sam barely catching it by it's strap. She starts to reel back to throw it before Danny yells at her.

"Not ready yet! It won't contain her!"

Danny fires a few ectoblasts towards Ember but none of them hit. Ember fires her own back as well, but this isn't her strong suit and the shots are weak and ill-placed. She glances back to see the guitar lying only a few yards behind her. Danny's still at range...

She lunges.

"No!"

A flash of red and a gust of wind flies by, followed by a growl by Ember. The Red Huntress halts in the air and wiggles the guitar, taunting Ember like a child.

"Ain't so hot without your guitar, huh flames?"

Ember's eyes shrink to narrow slits, but glow as fierce as ever. Her entire body tenses, and then bursts into flames. Danny tries to counteract the intense heat with his own cold, but the defense is negligible at best. He uses his arms to shield his face.

" _ **Red, get out of here!"**_

" _ **Give it BACK!"**_

Danny charges Ember, building up his core for a more intense ice blast, but she shoots off towards Valerie faster.

Valerie, having little time to do much else, manages to swing her hoverboard up and in between the flaming rocket that is Ember and herself, acting as a makeshift shield. The hoverboard shatters, sending bits of shrapnel as well as it's rider falling towards the ground. Another choice.

 _Less than 10 feet, should be fine._

Danny notices Ember's dazed state and takes the opportunity, cloaking his leg in cryoenergy and using all of his strength to kick Ember down.

She hits the dirt _hard_ , leaving a deep crater around her body. Danny, still in the air, halts his flight and lets himself fall, making himself twice as heavy and slamming straight onto Ember's chest.

" _Thermos!"_ Danny screams, hoping they're still close enough to reach him in time. He begins to use the stored energy in his core to freeze Ember solid, sapping away the strength in her own core.

Ember still isn't finished, yet. She uses her own heat to melt the ice, and at this point it's a battle of cores.

 _Ice- fire… she has the advantage._

"Phantom!" Sam breaks through the front line of the crowd. _"Move, Phantom!"_ She stresses.

Danny starts to struggle, he can't keep this up for long… but if he lets her go, there's a chance-

He feels Ember start to push back from beneath him.

No.

"Both of us!" He calls.

Sam hesitates. No time.

" **Do it!"** He commands.

She does.

 **A/N: Next chapter up very soon, maybe even tonight! Remember to review 3**


	10. 8: Exhausted (Ch 2)

**A/N: Oof, I shouldn't keep unrealistic promises, life always gets in the way.**

 **Also, upgraded this to a T rating just to be safe. It'll probably be more relevant later.**

"Sam!" Tucker catches up right after the bright blue beam engulfs both of the elemental ghosts, pushing through the last of the teens and clasping Sam on the shoulder.

"C'mon Tucker, we gotta get out of here."

"You have both of them?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"I'll call Jazz-"

" **Stop!"**

Sam audibly groans at the familiar voice, knowing full well what's to come next. Tucker just turns around and smiles before pressing 'Send' on his phone.

"Heyyyy Red, what's up? Thanks for keeping the city safe and stuff-"

"Give it." The Red Huntress interrupts Tucker and stalks up to the two with her hand outstretched.

"Yeah, sorry we're a little-"

Sam turns around and approaches, getting right up into Valerie's hidden face.

"And are you going to make us? With your big guns? Sorry, but we're giving Ember and Phantom to the _Fentons_ , since this _is_ their technology _and_ their jurisdiction."

Tucker slides in alongside Sam, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.

"Yeah… that and you and Phantom don't exactly have the best of… relationships." Tucker smirks to himself at the inside joke, but Sam just rolls her eyes and starts to walk away.

Red steps forward, jabbing a finger at the two teens. "Yeah? Well I can't let two _kids_ keep track of two _ghosts_ that've been terrorizing this town for years. You might be 'friends' with Phantom, but he's still a no-good spook."

Sam turns around again, looking like she's about to burst at the seems. She clutches the thermos to her chest and yells.

"You _hypocritical_ red-"

"Tucker! Sam!"

Another voice echoes through the steadily growing crowd, and Jazz soon emerges.

"Oh thank god, Jazz." Tucker breathes. He takes the thermos from Sam and hands it to her.

"How convenient! I'll just turn over these two ghosts over to an _adult Fenton_ and we can all be on our merry ways, right Sam?"

Sam glances over to Tucker and Jazz, and then back to Valerie. She seems to deflate, and sighs

"Yeah, let's get out of here. _Phantom_ wouldn't want us fighting like this." She walks over to the other two and everyone, even the gathered crowd, begins to disperse to their previous engagements.

Jazz leans over to Tucker as they approach her car.

" _Two_ ghosts?" She whispers.

Tucker taps the thermos. "Danny and Ember, something's up."

Jazz nods as they all get in, Sam immediately going off on a tirade as soon as the doors shut.

"Can you _believe_ her?! She thinks anyone would just turn Danny over to her after the number of times she's almost killed him? I mean I get holding a grudge, but _two years?!_ This is just moronic! And to think she had the _nerve_ to call us kids-"

Jazz pulls out of the school parking lot, offhandedly noticing the GAV drive up to the scene of the recent battle.

"Alright Sam, I get that you're venting right now, but can we start from the beginning? All I heard was the ghost alarm go off and a text from Tucker asking me to show up to the east fields. What happened that Danny's even _in_ the thermos? You guys actually have decent aim with the thing."

She glances through the rear-view mirror with a questioning look and receives a response from Tucker.

"Honestly? We don't know too much either. We were left with a duplicate while Danny went off and fought. He- the duplicate started acting weird, so we brought him to the bathroom. We figured he couldn't fight at full strength with the duplicate up, and he wouldn't know when it's okay to get rid of it, so Sam…" he hesitates, choosing his words carefully. "canceled it. We ran out with a thermos, but Danny said it couldn't hold her unless he brought her strength down more, so we waited in the crowd. During the fight Ember was acting crazy, like…"

"She was nuts." Sam says. "I wouldn't even know it was her except by her looks, she was completely engulfed in fire and _really_ angry, and Danny was- still is- really beat up."

Tucker nods. "Yeah, he got to holding her down, we wanted him to move but he told Sam to get them both, so she did."

"Not fair, by the way. He used his ghostly commanding thing to make me do it. He knows I hate possession and overshadowing." Sam leans back and looks out the window, crossing her arms.

Tucker shrugs. "He probably had a good reason. Anyways, then Valerie showed up and tried to get the thermos, but Sam wouldn't let her. They almost got into a full-blown fist-fight before you showed up."

Sam mumbles something under her breath and Jazz simply nods, still processing the entire thing. "Well, we'll head home and get them out of there. Our parents just headed to the scene, so they'll be away for long enough to send Ember back and get Danny out. Who went in first?" She looks in the mirror again at Sam.

"I got both of them at pretty much the same time since they were on top of each other, but definitely Danny first."

Jazz scowls as they pull into the FentonWorks driveway. "That's gonna be tricky then, since they'll probably come out at the same time too. I'll set up a ghost shield, if Ember was acting funny then I doubt Danny just wants to throw her back into the Zone." They all get out of the car and head inside. "I'll write you notes for school if it ends up going back in session, but I doubt it will- there's a _lot_ of cleanup from what I saw." They all get out of the car and head inside. "If you want lunch you can grab something to eat, too."

Sam and Tucker both look at the fridge skeptically. Jazz giggles.

"Don't worry, mom installed a ghost alarm in there just in case something like before happens again, you'll be fine. Just… stay out of the lab fridge." She walks downstairs with a wave.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"You guys ready!?"

Jazz's voice calls out from the lab, and Sam and Tucker are thankful for that, as there's been a serious lack of discussion since they entered the Fenton household. They both head down, still holding the thermos trapping their best friend.

"So, how are we going to release Danny but not Ember?" Tucker asks.

"Ah, that's easy. I'll release them both at the same time into a ghost shield, and then Danny can just turn human and walk out. Then we can re-capture Ember and toss her back in the Zone or keep her contained, whatever Danny wants." Jazz presses a button on a small remote and a square shield appears in the corner of the room next to the Portal. She gestures at it.

"Whenever you're ready. They'll be dazed when they come out, so they won't start attacking each other or anything immediately."

Tucker holds the thermos out to Sam, who shakes her head and crosses her arms. He shrugs and steps up to the shield, uncapping the thermos and sticking the front end inside.

He presses the release button, and a beam of white light appears and starts to bend and twist into two separate forms. It's mesmerizing to watch, really. Sam and Tucker usually weren't around for the "release" portion of the "catch and release" job of ghost hunting, so they got a bit distracted by the otherworldly creation of Danny from a ball of light.

So distracted, they don't see the flash of panic cross his face as he wakes up and processes where he is. Luckily, Jazz was on top of it. She crouches down by the ghost shield and whispers calmly to Danny.

"Hey, little brother? It's just us, you're okay. We just need you to turn human and get out of the shield before Ember comes to, can you do that?"

Danny glances around, slowly remembering what he was doing before this, and nods. He stands up, grimacing, phases back into his human form, and walks through the shield. He changes back to ghost form and plops back down on the ground next to the portal.

"Man, that was rough." He sighs.

Danny looks completely spent. He's panting heavily and clutches his more injured left side with his gloved hand. Everywhere that should be white on his suit isn't, ectoplasm and char marks staining it a sickly black-green. He runs a hand through his hair and it doesn't even bounce back to its normal wild state, just stays slicked back- the ectoplasm and sweat acting as a strange, grotesque gel.

Danny notices the three humans in the room staring.

"What?" He asks. Upon not getting a response, he adds "Shouldn't you uh… be more focused on Ember for when she wakes up?"

Jazz sighs and silently moves to one of the cupboards in the room, pulling out a bulky first aid kit and walking back to Danny. He holds up his hands, asking her to stop.

"Jazz, I'm fine."

"Danny, I'm tired of hearing that! You're completely wrecked!"

He waves his hands and scoots away a bit. "None of them- none of the injuries are deep! They just _look_ bad, they'll heal up in less than an hour, it's just taking a- I just need to recharge... since I'm so exhausted."

"Well, we can at least put bandages on and clean things up, I'd rather do that than nothing." Jazz edges forward more.

"Jazz, I- it'll be a waste of materials! And it'll sting! I'd rather if I just chill by the portal and let them heal, and _then_ clean off. You know that I can't get infections anymore, so it'll be fine."

"Uh, guys?"

Jazz and Danny stop their bickering to look at Tucker, who's pointing at the ghost shield.

"Ember."

Team Phantom crowds around the ghost shield, Danny struggling to get up and hobble himself over. Jazz looks at him with a critical eye, but he just smiles sheepishly at her.

Ember blinks awake and then brings a hand to her head, groaning. She props herself up on an elbow and rubs her eyes.

"Oh man… what hit me?"

Danny steps forward and leans on the ghost shield. "Good morning pop-star. Care to explain yourself?"

Ember's eyes widen and dart around to take in the scene around her, and the memories of the fight slowly trickle into her head as she rises to a sitting position.

"What's to explain? I came here for a fight, obviously didn't work out. Wanna throw me back in the Zone now?"

"What, so you can come back and terrorize me again?" He sighs. "What's really going on, Ember? This isn't how you usually do things."

Ember gets up and slams her fist against the shield. The humans jump, but Danny doesn't flinch, just remaining eerily still.

"Yeah? And maybe the way I do things changed, huh? Ever think about that?"

"It's not just the way you're doing things, it's _you_ who's changed, too! I actually thought we were on… I don't know, semi-decent terms before this- " Danny turns to face her directly, and they'd be less than in inch away from each other if it weren't for the thin barrier of the ghost shield between them. "and then you come out after being gone for a month and kick the crap outta me for no reason!"

"Yeah, well you thought _wrong,_ ya ghost-wannabe _freak_!"

Danny scoffs. "What, are you hanging out with Spectra now? I'm beyond her petty insults by this point, try harder." Danny pauses, realizing something. "Wait, are you _working_ for her? The way you attacked me, and the insults-"

"Hah! It does sound like her, so you're not wrong on that front, dipstick. _But,_ you forget- " She jabs a thumb at herself and leans back on the far wall of the shield. "I work for _me_ , no one else."

"Oh yeah?" Danny crosses his arms and looks Ember dead in the eye. "Then what about your _obsession_?"

Ember's eyes, hair, and entire aura flare up at the mention of _that_. "Watch what you're saying, _Phantom._ " She spits the words like venom.

Danny's voice deepens. "Last I knew, you didn't gain more power from attacking or absorbing other ghosts, you want to be _adored_ by _humans._ Fear isn't adoration."

"Last _you_ knew? You've been a 'ghost' for mere _years_ , don't think you know _anything_ about anything, kid. My obsession's fine."

"Tch." Danny makes a face and then walks away. "We're not going to get anything out of her- if there's even anything _to_ get. Throw her back in the Zone."

"Is that a good idea?" Sam says, "She's just gonna come back and attack again."

"It's what we do with everyone else, we're not going to keep her in a thermos for the rest of her afterlife, that's… immoral. That's reserved-" He stops. "It's not like it'll be any different than before, anyways. She goes in the Zone and attacks a few weeks later." He glances at Ember and narrows his eyes. "I'll just have to take her more seriously next time."

He walks over to Jazz and gently takes the remote out of her hands. He presses a button on the top to diffuse the shield. As it comes down, Ember slowly stands up and walks herself to the portal, giving one last glance back before disappearing in the swirling green pool. Danny closes the blast shields and sighs.

"I need a nap. Is school canceled? I uh… made some pretty big craters… Vlad's probably not gonna like that."

Tucker pulls out his phone and browses through his social media pages.

"Looks like it, and… ugh- there's already videos of the fight online- both of them." He glances at Sam briefly, who returns it with a scowl.

"Both of them?" Danny questions. He takes a seat on one of the lab tables and looks between his two friends.

" _Valerie_ had the nerve to talk down to us as Red, she was trying to take the thermos you two were in. She kept… saying stuff like how we were kids and didn't know what we were doing."

Danny laughs. "Haha, if only she knew. Can't wait to see the look on her face when she finds out."

"When?" Sam asks.

Danny gives her a smug smile. "Yeah, when. It's inevitable that we get found out, I'm just letting others connect the dots. I figure my public approval rating is high enough that it should be fine."

Danny lies back on the lab table and puts his arms behind his head. "And by the way, thanks for today. I appreciate you guys- oh!"

He sits up. "Did my duplicate dissipate in class, or not? He- I noticed when it did, it was a lifesaver. Ember was basically choking me, and it gave me the strength to push her off."

Sam and Tucker kind of shuffle their feet, not making eye contact with Danny. Tucker readjusts his hat.

"Well, it wasn't in class- we took it to the bathroom when we realized it didn't have a mind really anymore, and then the ghost alarms went off. We were trying to figure out if Sam and I should split up when she-"

"Tucker!" Sam interjects.

"What? I'm not going to lie to him. Plus, he even said it was a good thing."

Danny tilts his head to the side. "What happened?"

Sam hesitates, hugging herself. "I… I shot it. With a lipstick blaster. I knew you needed the strength and I wanted both Tucker and I to get out there with you. I… it-"

Danny fills the room with laughter, cutting Sam off and nearly falling off of the table.

"Danny!" Sam stomps her foot in frustration.

"Oh god- haha… sorry Sam, it's just- pfhahaha! It's a duplicate, and a _lipstick blaster_!" He resumes his laughter, and Tucker snickers to himself as well. Sam shoves him.

"You don't have a right to laugh Tucker, you were freaked out too!"

Tucker puts his hands up in a mock surrender and giggles some more.

"Yeah well, when you put it that way… it is kinda funny."

Danny manages to calm down enough to continue. "Guys, if you need to take out a duplicate then do it, I know it's probably… freaky to shoot your friend, but they're not me, just… projections. If I can't focus enough to connect with it and if it's weak enough to be taken out by a _lipstick blaster_ \- which by the way, can't do anything against me anymore- then it's probably best to just poof it."

Danny takes a few deep breaths to steady himself, and Jazz puts a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Don't worry too much, Sam. Danny isn't the best at… sympathizing with other's emotions."

"Jeez Jazz, maybe it's the ghost in me. Wooooo~" He wiggles his fingers dramatically and lies back down. Jazz shakes her head.

"If you guys want to talk about it, I'm here." She smiles warmly at the two. "I think I'd be a little traumatized if I had to do the same, too."

"Thanks, Jazz." Sam and Tucker both say, gratefully.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The four of them chat for a while longer before Danny hears the front door open upstairs. He floats into the center of the group and brings his finger to his lips to silence their chatter.

"Danny, Jazz, we're home! Are you here?" Clunking and rustling can be heard from upstairs, as well as his dad yelling excitedly about… something. Danny points at Jazz and then upstairs, and then whispers to her. She runs upstairs and Danny holds his hands out to his two friends.

Sam and Tucker grab onto him, and he stretches his intangibility over them before flying up and into his room. He gently drops them onto his bed, and he changes back to human.

"Dang, I will never get used to that."

"Ditto, it's like being dropped into a bucket of ice water."

Both of them rub their arms up and down, using the friction to warm them up. Danny chuckles and changes out of his bloodied and charred shirt, grabbing a fresh one out of his dresser.

"You complain about it every time, but it's not like I can do much about it." He grabs a clean towel and a pair of jeans. "I'm gonna quick head to the shower. If my parents ask, I got covered in ectoplasm or debris or something."

Tucker gives him a thumbs up. "We gotcha dude, we'll just commandeer your game systems in the meantime."

Danny nods and starts to head out, but hesitates before phasing through the door.

"And um… guys?"

They both turn to him, patiently waiting for what he has to say. It takes him a bit.

"If something really did freak- weird you out… um. You can talk to me about it. Or, or Jazz, if it makes you more comfortable." He rubs the back of his neck. "I know ghost hunting can get kinda, um… not, ugh- _uncomfortable_ , sometimes. Beyond getting injured." He sighs and looks them in the eye. "I just wanna make sure you're okay."

Sam and Tucker meet Danny's gaze and smile at him.

"Danny, we're alright. Some things are kind of weird, but it's nothing we can't handle. We're helping you out because we _want_ to, nothing else."

Tucker nods. "Don't worry about it dude, if something really bothered us, we'd let you know, or Jazz." Tucker goes back to setting up the console. "Plus, with all this experience, I can definitely put 'adaptable' on my future resumes." He pauses. "I wonder if I could use Jazz as a reference?"

With the mood sufficiently lightened, everyone chuckles.

"That's something you'll have to ask her, but I'd put my money on her being absolutely delighted."

Danny sighs for what seems like the hundredth time today, but this time, it's relaxing.

"I can't say it enough, thanks guys."

Sam gets up and pushes Danny towards the door.

"Enough, enough! Go take a shower before your parents come in here and ask why you're standing in your room with your friends half-naked."

"Ahh, I'll just tell them a ghost did it, works every time." Danny vanishes from sight, and the pressure on Sam's hands disappears as well. His disembodied voice echoes through the room.

"It's not like it's ever a lie~"

 **A/N: Smug Danny is my favorite Danny.**

 **By the way, this might come as a disappointment to some, but I'm probably going to keep Danny and Sam platonic for at least the majority of this fic. If I ever do romance, I don't really want it to be forced- that and I have no idea if I could even do it well, lol. My main concern is that I don't want to cheapify their relationship with lovey-dovey stuff, and I don't want it to seem tacky.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading this far! I love you guys. There'll be one more fluffy kinda chapter before things** _ **really**_ **pick up, so hold onto your hats, folks! 3**


	11. 9: Flowing

**A/N: Hahaha nevermind, we're gonna hold the fluffy chapter off for a little bit, I think it'll fit better somewhere else. That and I've been itching to write this chapter for a while. Enjoy!**

Despite what that strange girl told Star, she really couldn't stay away from the Fenton kid.

After the ectoplasm event and the confrontation with the girl, Star had her eye on Danny for the rest of that first day. Although they had most of their classes together, she couldn't pinpoint anything particularly out of the ordinary. She didn't even have the guts to approach him anymore after being threatened, too. (Star writes a note in the back of her mind reminding her to figure out her name.) She _could_ go to the counselor about the confrontation, or disciplinary services, but she doubts that'll stop anything- she has no proof, after all. And on the off-chance that ghosts _are_ involved, she doubts that they care about suspensions or write-ups. Or prison. Or execution.

Jeez, ghosts are a lot scarier when you realise that they _can't_ be punished.

(At least in the land of the living)

Nevertheless, the girl can't be everywhere at once, and Star was still skeptical about the idea that she was even affiliated with ghosts. She could just be some normal delinquent and Star _could_ be overthinking things. (Just a tad) Danny, on the other hand, _definitely_ had something abnormal and ghostly going on with him, and if Star was careful about it- could likely find out more. After all, based on him and his friends' behavior _now_ , it's not like they hide it well.

She was watching the group from since Bio started, and they were watching back, glancing over and whispering to each other every now and again. She knew that they were talking about her, but she didn't particularly care. (It's not anything new, anyways. Lots of people talk about everyone in the A-List. You just kinda get numb to it.)

The weird part was when all of them decided to go silent. She had been trying to eavesdrop on their conversation from the beginning, but couldn't hear anything coherent, then the whispering just… stopped.

And then Danny left, presumably to head to the 'bathroom'.

 _Is he picking up his old habit of ditching class?_ She thought.

But no, he came back barely a minute later and resumed his lab as if nothing happened. Star shook her head and went back to her own work, assuming that they'd do the same, which they did for a while. She actually thought that this would be a normal class for once.

But boy, was she wrong.

"MANSON, FOLEY, FENTON! Do you need _another_ detention?!"  
Star (and the rest of the class) looks over at the offending group. Star ignores the other two teens and focuses right on Danny, who seems to be either in some sort of pain... or just _really_ tired. He also… it hurts her eyes to look at him, like he's out of focus. What?

"Sorry Mr. Marx, Danny's not feeling well so we're gonna take him to the nurse, bye!"

Sam and Tucker pull Danny out of the room. Star has a _huge_ desire to follow them, but figures it would look much too suspicious, so she holds off- for now.

Star and the rest of the class jump at the blaring siren of the ghost alarm not even a minute after Danny and his friends leave. Star is instantly suspicious. She removes all of her protective equipment and heads out into the hallway as quickly as possible, ignoring whatever Marx is instructing the students to do.

Most people are heading towards the nearest exit in a fast but unpanicked manner. So far it doesn't appear that the school building has been attacked, so students are more curious than anything else- a couple people already pulling out their phones and recording the incident.

Star follows the flow of traffic outside and scans the skies for any indication of where the fight might be. Her answer is oddly told to her by her feet, _feeling_ more so than hearing something like an earthquake. If she focuses, she can faintly hear something like guitar music playing over the chattering of the crowd and she follows that, heading to the east side of the building.

 _Sounds like that one fire ghost, Ember. Seems worth it to-_

"Star! Oh Star!"

 _Oh shoot. There goes my plans for the day._

Star turns around and puts on a bright smile "Hi Pauly~ what's u-"

Paulina grabs Star by the wrist and basically drags her across the lawn of the school.

"C'mon, we've got to go see _mi amor_ the ghost boy! I haven't seen him in weeks!"

 _This… could work out!_

"O-oh, yeah!" Star notices that Paulina, like a lot of the rest of the students, already has her phone out. "Are you gonna take a video?"

"Of course I am! I need it for my Danny Phantom fanpage. He hasn't been seen publicly recently, so I need all the content I can get. If it gets big enough, maybe he'll do a _personal interview_!" Paulina pulls Star along directly to the action where what sounds like… explosions are going off. The slowly gathering crowd of teens keeps its distance.

"Look, look, there he is! _Phantom!_ "

Star catches only a glimpse of Phantom in the air before he swoops down and gets in hand-to-hand combat with the fire ghost. Once the crowd notices that the large explosions from before have stopped, they move in and form a wide circle around the two brawling ghosts, Paulina and Star at the very front.

"Ohmygosh! It's so rare that Phantom fights like this, and we're so close!" Paulina is absolutely giddy with excitement, but as Star watches the movements of the ghosts, she notices something else. The injuries, his dull aura, the lack of ectoenergy, and the fact that the other ghost looks much better off…

Phantom's losing.

 _Why are the Fentons_ _ **never**_ _here when they're actually needed?!_

Suddenly, the guitar Ember was using as a weapon goes flying behind her, and a deep, guttural sound leaks from her throat.

" _Ecro molte du, Phantom!"_

Then, they're on the ground. The teens in the crowd that were watching for spectacle become a lot more nervous now that they realize what Star already has, and the heat from Ember's flames becomes _a lot_ more intimidating than before and rushes into the crowd. On top of that, she keeps speaking some sort of language that carves deep into your very bones, something dark and _wrong._ Phantom struggles under her grip, but it doesn't seem like he has the strength to-

Relief washes over everyone as hot is replaced with cool, and Phantom manages to kick her off and back away. He floats up to right himself, and then they trade some more ectoblasts, onlookers backing away once they realize this might become another ranged fight. Phantom's shots don't hit, while Ember's do, and Star doesn't know how long he's going to be able to keep this up.

"Phantom! Thermos!"

 _Is that…?_

Sure enough, Danny's friends come sprinting through the crowd not too far away from where Star is standing. She glances to Paulina to see her reaction to this development, but her and most of the other watchers seem more distracted by the fight.

But to Star, this could be a clue.

"Not ready yet! It won't contain her!"

 _This has to be related._

"We have to get through!"

 _Fenton technology, ghost hunters._

"Go ahead, he needs the thermos!"

 _They're Danny's_ _ **best friends**_ _._

"No!"

 _And they're working with Phantom._

"Ugh, it's the Huntress."

 _He has to know_ _ **something**_ _._

A blast of heat pelts star right in the face, and she instinctively shields herself with her arms and turns away. For seconds she can barely breathe, and everyone begins to panic. Some run, some scream, and some just silently wait for a chance to gasp.

A crash sounds out, and the heat ceases. Her breath comes back to her and she tries to look again, but flinches back at another crash.

Then, silence. Panting. Murmurs. She peeks through her arms.

The tables have turned, and this time _Phantom's_ on top of the ghost girl, and it looks like she's immobilized.

" _Thermos!"_ he calls, and Star looks directly to where Sam and Tucker once were. Sam takes the opportunity and breaks through the awestruck line of students to run directly into the center of battle.

"Phantom!" She aims the device at the two ghosts. "I can't get a good- ugh. _Move, Phantom!_ "

Ember starts to struggle again, steam rising from their bodies and small flames emerging from her skin, licking at the ice, melting it.

"Both of us!" Phantom says.

Sam waits, indecision crossing her face.

 _She's gonna get free._

" **Do it!"**

A bright blue beam engulfs both Phantom and Ember, and they get sucked into the thermos, marking the end of the battle. Sam caps the thermos and turns to Tucker, and they begin to leave.

Well, until the Red Huntress interrupts them.

They argue for a bit, but Star couldn't care less about what. She's more focused on the fact that she can't find Danny _anywhere._ Those three stick together like glue, and it's often rare to see them separated outside of class, but Star looks through the crowd and in the outlying areas and sees absolutely no Danny Fenton. She knows he's not the keenest on ghost fights, but he usually shows up pretty quickly after they're taken care of.

 _Maybe he really was sick?_

No, probably not.

"Tucker! Sam!" Jazz Fenton pushes through the crowd herself to meet the other two, and they hand the thermos to the elder Fenton.

 _Still no Danny._

Tucker, Sam, and Jazz depart, and then the rest of the viewing group disperses, seeing the action done. Paulina puts down her phone.

"Can you believe that jumpsuited _creep_ wanted Phantom? And why is the goth girl the one that gets to work with him? It isn't fair."

"Well, she is friends with the Fentons…" Star says offhandedly. She's still kind of distracted by her own thoughts.

"Ugh, I could make friends with that Fenton kid that had a crush on me, but it seems like too much work. One day my Phantom will come to love me on his own anyways, I just know it." Paulina grabs Star by the hand and pulls her off in the direction of her car. "Come on! School's probably canceled, and that gives me a perfect chance to post about the ghost boy!"

Star nods and follows along to the parking lot, noticing the three fledgling ghost hunters ahead of them getting into Jazz's car as well.

Without Danny.

 _That's it, this is too weird._

Star makes a decision.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Hey Pauly, I'm gonna borrow some of your clothes, nothing in-season though."

Paulina's still ticking away on her computer. "Hmm? Oh yeah, sure."

Star digs through Paulina's closet and pulls out a larger jacket and hat, as well as an entirely new outfit. It's about 4pm now, and Star figures it's cold enough out now that she won't get looked at strange if she's wearing a large coat- convenient for her.

"Is everyone meeting up somewhere tonight, or are we staying in?" Star asks.

Paulina clicks over to their group chat and reads through it. "No, doesn't look like it really. Some of the guys are heading to the mall, but it's for sports stuff so I don't think any of the girls are going. Why, do you want to do something?"

Star changes into the new outfit. "No, I'm just busy tonight is all. I'm actually heading out now. Doing a thing with my mom, you know how it is."

"Ah, tell Mama I said hi!" Paulina swivels around in her chair to give Star a hug. When they break apart, she looks at her skeptically.

"You're going out in _that_? _Chica_ , that jacket was given to me by my uncle when he wanted me to go ice fishing with him. It's not cute at all, even on you."

Star decides to ignore her confusion on whether that was a compliment or not and instead comes up with an excuse. "Yeah well, my mom wants to do something outside, and all of my jackets aren't heavy enough. You know how I am with the cold."

"Well alright, stay warm girl! See you tomorrow."

"Yep, see ya!" Star walks out of Paulina's bedroom and heads downstairs, saying goodbye to Paulina's parents on the way out. She checks her phone.

 _Quarter after four, they're usually at the Nasty Burger at this time._

Since Danny's strange disappearance added on top of the ghost attack this morning, Star has been planning all day about what she's going to say when she finally confronts him. A number of scenarios and plans have been created, theorized, and sifted through, and honestly?

Star already knows that they aren't going to go well, but she did have a few things she knew she was going to do.

She was definitely wearing a disguise.

Not for Danny or his friends, no, she didn't think that'll fool them. And it's not like she's trying to hide her identity from them anyways, especially since she plans to talk to them- well, more specifically, Danny, upfront and honestly. Star doubts that she'll get any information out of his friends, they're too loyal. Danny however…

If it's his secret, he's got more freedom to share it.

No, the disguise was for the creepy ghost girl. As time went on Star became more and more doubtful of the fact that she had anything to do with ghosts, but it's better to be safe than sorry. That and if any of the A-List saw her talking with _"those losers"_ they'd be hard-pressed to find a reason _not_ to kick her out of the troop.

2\. She's talking to Danny _alone._

Star really, _really_ can't handle Sam. Tucker's a creep, but he's fine. Sam's loud, opinionated, and stubborn. If she's with Danny she doubts that he'll even get to speak in the conversation, so she has to first get on Danny's good graces. At least enough so that he'll talk to her without them. She doesn't particularly care if they eavesdrop (since, obviously, Danny's going to just tell them everything afterwards) she just doesn't want them _present_ to interrupt them. Or have them influence Danny's word choice. The kid wasn't very confident or confrontational anyways, so Star thinks that she can get the truth out of she pries hard enough.

3\. She's _not_ going to take 'no' for an answer.

Star _knows_ there's something weird going on with Danny Fenton, and she isn't going to stop until she finds out. This goes way beyond just idle curiosity, Star knows that this is bigger than that. She can't tell where he fits in this crazy world of Amity Park, but there's no way he doesn't fit _somewhere._ She likes to think that she's doing her own part in helping to keep Amity safe in some roundabout way, but she knows it's probably just some sort of weird… obsessive drive she has- a challenge. Maybe she'd be good at being a detective, or a lawyer, or a doctor. Definitely something to look into, at least. Maybe she'd ask her mom.

 _God, now that I think about it- this is really messed up. I'm really messed up._

Star hesitates before walking into the Nasty Burger. Shoot, she was so lost in thought that she forgot to check to see if that girl's in here. She pulls her hat a little further down her head and confidently enters the building, walking right up to the counter and ordering a shake. She notices Valerie in the back giving someone orders, and _hopes_ she doesn't notice her. She takes a number and turns around to approach the trio's usual spot.

 _Yes! They're here!_

Star counts her… lucky stars… and sits at the table directly behind Danny, Sam, and Tucker, (sitting directly behind Danny, of course) hopefully doing so nonchalantly enough for them to not take notice of her. She leans back in the booth as far as she can, listening in on their conversation.

 _Hopefully they aren't leaving soon._

"Tucker, it's literally the same as regular meat."

"Just without the mass slaughter of innocent creatures!"

"Nah, it just seems… weird and fake. I doubt it would taste the same, too."

"How would it taste any different? They grow the cells just as they would in a regular cow or chicken or whatever. They think they could accelerate the growth, too."

"See, see, my question is- if they can accelerate the growth of lab grown meat, why not people's cells? Couldn't they just do the same thing?"

"Tuck, I don't think it works like that. That'd probably like, break a person."

"Well, a _normal_ person. How're you feeling, anyways?"

"Hey, I resent that! And I told you guys, it was all just superficial. I'm fine! Already healed up, see? Er… mostly."

"Well, _you're_ taking it easy tonight anyways. By the way, did you hear about the new Doomed patch? We could play some of that when we get back."

"Yeah, and I heard that they gave the Technomancer some well-needed nerfs."

"No, this is terrible! Technomancer was _fine._ Just because-"

"Here's your shake, Miss."

Star leans back forward and thanks the server, and then resumes her eavesdropping.

She listens for another 15 minutes, and it mostly consists of average conversation about video games and film and whatnot. There's a few ghost jokes sprinkled here and there, but that's not really anything to be worked up over in Amity.

Right when Star has pretty much given up on the idea of easily getting Danny alone, the perfect opportunity arises.

"I'm gonna go grab a refill, be right back."

Danny rises from his seat and heads over to the soda fountain, and Star begins to freak out a bit before calming herself down and following.

Star removes her hat and glasses and shoves them in her pocket. "Danny?" She calls, and she curses herself for sounding so… hesitant.

Danny glances back for a second while refilling his cup. "Oh, uh… hey Star. Do you need something?"

She fiddles with the poofball on her hat in her pocket- why was she so nervous? "Yeah, can I talk to you for a bit? Without your friends?"

"Uh… oh shi-" His cup overflows while looking at Star, and he pours a bit out and grabs some napkins. "Suuuure… do you wanna head outside, or…?"

"Outside is fine, it's pretty loud in here."

"Alright just… gimme a second."

He wipes off the rest of his cup and walks out the side door with her. Sam and Tucker notice what's going on and give the two confused looks, but Danny simply flashes them a smile, shakes his head and puts his hand up.

 _Thank goodness._ Star thinks.

They walk outside and Star shivers, but Danny simply sips on his cola and chews on the straw.

"Um, do you want to grab your jacket?"

Danny shakes his head.

"Nah, um… my family comes from further north, so we're pretty tough with the cold."

"Okay, um… sure."

Star leans against the side of the building, glancing around to see if that girl is nearby, and then spends a few moments in silence.

"So… what did you want to talk about?"

Star sighs. _Here we go._

"Listen… I'm just going to cut to the chase. I've noticed some really strange things about you lately, and I want answers."

Star notices Danny tense at that, but he still responds.

"Star… if I'm being honest, I don't know how much I'm going to be able to tell you. It's kind of-"

"Dangerous? I kind of figured you'd say that. I've already been threatened by someone, so I know."

Danny's eyes widen at that statement.

"Threatened? By who? For what? Talking to me?" He looks at Star with a distressed expression and shifts closer to her.

 _This might be pretty mean of me, but I think I can use his concern._

Star shakes her head and backs away "I'll answer your questions when you answer mine, alright?"

"But Star, this is-" Danny begins to protest, and then hesitates. He nods anyways.

"I was watching the three of you in Bio the other day, and I want to know what this is all about."

She holds up her phone and shows him the picture she took of their notes. Danny squints at the screen before realizing what it is.

 _Looks like it's stopped, but your canines look sharper too, and your tongue is less pink and more grey, and pointed a little... I think?_

 _great, another thing I have to hide. When does this stuff even happen?!_

 _don't worry dude, we got your back. :)_

 _Of course! Plus, it seems like it's only noticeable if you're really looking for it. We'll talk to Jazz tonight, maybe she has some insight._

 _Thanks, guys._

Danny nervously plays with the stickiness on his cup after reading what's on the phone.

"Now, I have to admit that I'm not particularly knowledgeable about human biology, but I'm pretty sure canines don't grow when you're 16… nor do they naturally become sharper."

"I… Star… what made you take this photo?" Danny looks at her with a slightly hurt stare, and she feels a bit guilty about what she's done, but she resolves to press on.

"I saw you in class Danny. I know about the ectoplasm thing."

Danny stays silent and looks away, so Star decides to just shoot off more questions.

"I know your friends work with Phantom, too. And your parents are ghost hunters, and-" she pauses. "You probably hunt ghosts too, don't you? You vanish from class periodically, your friends have all that Fenton tech, and you've regularly been seen either super exhausted or super beat up. It's been slowing down lately, but that doesn't mean that everyone just forgets about it."

Danny leans his head back on the wall and clutches his cup. He seems to debate something internally for a little bit, and Star gives him time. He rubs the back of his neck and sighs.

"Whatever I tell you, are you going to tell people? Spread rumors through Dash and Paulina? Get more popular by figuring out the Fenton kid's secret?"

"I- no! I…" Star tries to figure out the right words to say. She looks at Danny and-

He's just studying her closely. Eerily still, waiting for her answer. She looks him directly in the eye.

"I'm not doing this to get popularity or to tell anybody or anything like that. I'm doing it for… myself, really. That and I want to make sure you're okay."

Danny leans back against the wall again and seems to debate something. He puts his drink in his mouth and chews on the straw for a bit before coming to a decision.

"I hunt ghosts." He blankly says. "That's… really about it. There's not- I'm not in a gang, or do drugs, or any of those other dumb… I can't even call them theories, I mean one of them is that I'm having a secret love- never mind. Anyways it's nothing really bad. I'm handling it just fine, but it would- I'd like it if you didn't tell anyone."

"Why don't your parents know?"

Danny blinks at her, and then tilts his head. "I… How do you know that?"

Star shrugs. "Lucky guess? The fact that you go to your sister rather than the ghost experts with PHDs about ghostly stuff makes it pretty obvious."

"Ah, I guess so."

The two of them sit for a while longer, and then Danny pushes himself off the wall and faces her.

"If that's all your questions, then tell me about-"

"It's not."

"You- d... what?"

"I was just taking a moment to collect my thoughts… and give you some time to breathe."

Danny sighs and then leans sideways against the wall. "I feel like you were just doing it for dramatic effect."

Star giggles. "Maybe that, too." She slips her hat back on her head, the chill of the setting sun getting to her. "So… you hunt ghosts. That doesn't explain any of your weird things like drooling ectoplasm, weirdly large fangs, and being blurry."

Danny runs his hand through his hair and then rubs the back of his neck.

"Oh boy, these past few days have been a mess, haven't they?"

"You would know better than I. You're just lucky it was me that saw instead of Dale or Nathan."

Danny's brows knit together. "Well _they_ also don't snoop into our private conversations. Hopefully. Or give us detentions." He glances at her.

Star shrinks down guiltily after that accusation. "I didn't _mean_ to give you detention, I just needed to get Sam and Tucker away so I could see what was written. And… I mean- ugh. I know it was wrong too, but I was curious and kinda freaked out-" Danny flinches "by what was going on, so I felt that I had to."

He looks away.

"I'm sorry, I really am, but that doesn't make me regret it."

Danny sighs and takes a long drink. He doesn't look at her, but she figures that's fair.

"It was a lab accident."

Star looks up at him. Danny continues.

"I was messing around in my parents lab and… something happened. My- I'm contaminated with ectoplasm and there are… uh- side effects, sometimes." He stops, and looks at her. "I don't really want to go into huge detail, but that's- that's the gist of it!" He chuckles a bit, scratching his head.

"That's… it?"

Danny nods. "Yeah, sorry it's nothing like… crazy or spectacular or anything. That's how life is, isn't it?"

Danny pauses, and then laughs.

"Well, maybe not in Amity through, right? Never a dull moment, honestly."

Star smiles at his attempt to lighten the mood, and then Danny speaks up.

"So, now it's my turn. Star…" He looks at her with a very serious expression.

"Who threatened you?"

She fidgets a little, unsure of how to put it without her sounding crazy… but still telling the truth. She owes that much to him, at least.

"I'm… not sure. Well- I _am_ sure of who it is, but I'm not sure who _they_ are."

Danny stares at her blankly. He makes a confused expression.

"You're uh, gonna have to give me a bit more than that."

She sighs. "It's a girl in our history class, sits behind me and to the left. Long brown hair, I think she's goth, may have hung out with-"

"Autumn?"

"Who?"

"I'm pretty sure you're talking about her. Quiet girl, really pretty? Wears a decent amount of jewelry?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's her!"

"You- Star. We've been in class together for almost an entire semester, how do you not know her?"

Star gestures her hands around aimlessly. "She's just- how am I supposed to remember all those names? Plus, most of the time I never really talk to any of them-"

"Okay, okay, doesn't matter. But _she_ threatened _you_? She barely talks to anyone, and I haven't spoken to her like, ever outside of school stuff."

She lowers her voice to more of a whisper. "That's who it was! She told me to stay away from you, or else I'll be _'the next mystery no one will solve'_ or something like that." Star glances around, making sure that Autumn hadn't appeared out of thin air or anything like that. She's definitely paranoid now.

"And she was… creepy. Her voice made me freeze, and her breath was _cold_. I was scared for my life for some reason."

Danny pauses. "Was there anything going on with her eyes?" He asks.

Star thinks. "No, I don't think so." She waits again. "I… don't even remember what color they were." She shakes her head. "I probably wasn't paying attention at the time, I'm sorry."

Danny waves a hand out in front of him. "No, no, it was just an offhand question." He digs in his pocket for his phone.

"Here, here's my number. I want you to call me if anything weird happens, okay? I'll put you under a priority contact, so only call me if it's important."

Star looks at the smartphone skeptically, but hesitantly takes it. "I don't want you calling _me_ whenever you want either, you know." She begins to call her own number with his phone.

Danny rolls his eyes. "Seriously, someone threatened you and that's what you go with? I'm not- Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean I want to date you, or whatever. I've got…" He sighs. "I've got bigger things on my plate." He smiles.

Star frowns. _There he goes making me feel guilty again… not that he's wrong._

"Sorry, kind of a habit." She hands his phone back to him and pulls out her own.

" _One that I really need to quit."_ She mumbles.

Danny taps on his phone a bit, probably adding her info into his phone. "Yeah, you do."

"I- you- Hey!"

Danny finishes his drink and heads back inside, waving to Star as he leaves.

"Hey, you said it- not me! Night!"

The doors close and Star stands there in the cold, she looks at the phone number on her screen and taps on it, tagging it with Danny's name.

She heads to her contacts and looks at her newest entry. Frowning, she sends him a one word text.

Night.

Star closes her phone and walks away. _Hmph, that'll show him not to tell me what to do._

 **A/N: Oh boy, it almost seems like I'm shipping Danny/Star.** _ **Not**_ **intentional, for the record, but let me know what you think!**

 **Holy cow, what a long chapter too, hope you guys liked it! Coming up is going to be the chunk of the story that I've been looking forward to since the beginning. I'm so excited! Anyways, thank you for the favorites and follows!**

 **OH! P.S.- I'm also in need of a BETA! I haven't had one yet, and I feel like having someone else look over my work would be nice- especially since I don't really write besides this. If you're interested, send me a PM! Thank you! 3**


	12. 9: Flowing (Ch 2)

**A/N: OverlordChocolate - Thank you, I appreciate the praise! As I was writing the two of them they felt pretty complimentary. I'm trying to write Star as someone who's developed a kind of petty and shallow persona, but knows that and wants to kick it. I took that and decorated it with a little narcissism, curiosity, seriousness and sympathy, and we have Star! Having Danny to lighten her spirit and quell those negative traits works really well. It's actually strange to me since I typically ride the Danny/Sam ship, but it kind of just… happened! We'll see where it goes, as I said before, I really don't want to force anything romantic, or else it'll feel cheesy.**

 _Dang it, there were still more questions I wanted to ask him. That's… fine. He told me way more than I expected or needed of him. I still feel bad, though, I basically forced him to tell me..._

Star walks home from her interrogation feeling pretty accomplished. She finally found the big secret behind Danny Fenton! She really did tell him the truth, there was no intention of telling anyone ever, but there were still a few things that nagged at her mind, and she _of course_ had to list them off one by one.

 _If he fights ghosts… then why was he not present for the fight today? And why is he_ _ **never**_ _present for any ghost fights ever? There was that one time with our parents being kidnapped, and he did show a decent amount of prowess, but… ugh. It still doesn't make sense._

 _Why would he not ask his parents to just get rid of the ectoplasm? Why leave them in the dark? It feels like it'd be helpful to at least try to do something about it._

 _On top of that, why would he keep his ghost fighting a secret from his parents? He never answered that question… he just redirected it with a question of his own. Dang it, I have to pay more attention._

 _What are his friends' (and his) relationship to Phantom? Thinking of it now, that might be the reason why he doesn't tell them, they fight Phantom on a regular basis. Telling them that he teams up with their ultimate ghost enemy might not be a good idea._

 _What's Jazz's involvement? Ghost psychiatrist? Ghost hunter therapist? I bet the job does get stressful at times._

 _What kind of side effects does he have? She only knows a few… although that might be a bit too personal, like asking what kind of side effects come with an illness._

It almost seemed like finding out more about Danny just lead to more questions about Danny- go figure.

Star takes her gloves off and pulls out the keys to her home. She's on the nice side of town, as to be expected, but nowadays she's commonly home alone due to her parents' careers and her brother heading off to college. (Maybe she could ask him about Jazz, he was in the same grade and was on good terms with her. She'll send him a message later.) They gave her a fair allowance and someone comes over once a week to clean the house while she's gone, so she doesn't mind particularly much.

Star unlocks the door and enters, shedding off layers of clothing and sighing in the warm air of the house. She relocks the door and enables the security system before going up to shower.

 _Weekend, weekend. Maybe Pauly or Kwan would be interested in going out to eat tomorrow? I should probably eat something after my shower too, that shake is_ _ **not**_ _sitting well._

She idly ponders her options for dinner and shoots Paulina a text while grabbing a clean set of pajamas and heading to her personal bathroom. She smiles as she plays music from her phone and sings along, happy to be kicking the bite from the fall chill with a nice, hot shower.

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

 _Well, it seems that our girl has refused to listen. The question is, are we going to bluff, or no?_

 _I… we could speak to her again, reinforce the fact that we know. I-_

 _Oh no, don't you want punishment? She doesn't believe you, she doesn't think your words hold any meaning. We'll show her and Phantom that we aren't to be played with, right?_

 _No- I mean… wouldn't that show Phantom where we are? Reveal you to him? It would be best to lay low… for a bit. She didn't even find out anything-_

 _No, no, no, that matters not! We're going to show them that our words have_ _ **power!**_ _That we are a force to be feared! And don't fret about being found out- I have ways around that._

 _But… please!_

 _Shhh shh shh… quiet now. We're going. Didn't I tell you to trust me?_

A gasp echoes through the almost empty home of the DeLisle household as a humanoid shape phases through the walls. The creature looks down at themselves before smiling and touching down on the tiled floor of a perfectly modern kitchen. Their form begins to stabilize as soon as they halt their flight, taking the appearance of a small young girl with dark hair. They look around for a bit, marveling at the chrome appliances and marble tabletop before gingerly peering into various drawers and cupboards until they find what they need.

The girl takes hold of a large chef's knife, turning it about in their hand and contemplating something, before returning it to the knife block and pulling out a different, smaller blade. She smiles and sighs, pausing and staring at the knife with a nostalgic gaze. A few moments pass, and she spins around in a circle, taking one last look at the shining clean kitchen before heading up a wooden staircase. The girl debates whether to take flight up the stairs or not, but listens to the music and shower echoing through the stairwell and shrugs, bouncing up each step almost like a child heading to their first day of school.

She reaches the top of the stairs and breathes deeply, closing her eyes. Turning to the side, she runs her hand along the wall while walking calmly to her target, humming along with the music and the other girl's voice that's steadily growing in volume.

She walks through an open door, glancing at the big, glow-in-the-dark star fixed to it and chuckles. She looks again in wonder at the room she's entered, it's large enough to be a master, with all decor complimenting each other in various salmons, pinks, and blues. The ceiling is vaulted, and a skylight reveals the faint smattering of stars as the sun takes its last breath for the day. The girl has to hold back her revelry to keep silent, but does take some time to observe the various photos, clothing, and other trinkets strewn about the room.

The mood takes a gentle turn as she comes across a family photo hanging on the wall above the bed. The girl pauses, and then slowly climbs upon the bed to carefully remove the photo on the wall and look at it more closely. She sits down cross-legged on the plush pillows and runs her thumb along the dusted glass surface before taking a corner of a blanket and cleaning it off thoroughly. Her face appears forlorn, sullen, reminiscent for a time, and tears prick at the corners of her eyes before she knows it.

The sound of rushing water stops, and the girl remembers her purpose here. She rubs her eyes and places the photo down on a pillow, then takes a deep breath and smiles.

 _It's time, are you ready to see the fruits of your labor?_

Silence.

 _Oh, don't be so apprehensive. The first is always the scariest, but it gets easier as time goes on. It starts to feel_ _ **better**_ _as time goes on. I'll even help you, but only this once. You have to learn._

The girl puts her ear up to the bathroom door, listening as the sink runs and the singing stops for a moment. She places her hand on the doorknob before shaking her head and silently giggling at herself and holding her breath.

Her hand, as well as the rest of her body, fades into the same destabilized form they used to enter the home. Their body becomes a mist and presses against the door, slowly melting through the structure before reaching the other side. Their target is revealed mere feet from them, in only a towel, washing her face. Completely defenseless.

The creature again touches down and reforms into the dark-haired girl, faster this time, purposeful this time, and reaches for the hair of the blonde. She grabs a fistful and yanks, pulling her entire head back and looking straight down into her eyes.

Star yelps in pain, curling backwards by some unknown force and looks up to see deep red irises peering back at her along with a wide and toothy grin. She gasps and reaches up to push them away, but slips and slams right onto the ground, the world spinning and her ears ringing from the impact.

"I warned you, remember?" The voice echoes. She's afraid.

Star _screams_ as loud as she can, but is immediately cut off by hands and nails digging into her throat. The girl definitely looks small, but she feels as strong as someone like Dash. There's no doubt there's some sort of ghost behind this, now.

"Sure, what you did might have ultimately been harmless, but I've been wanting a reason to really let loose anyways. _And_ we can't have you going out and finding the _real_ truth, now can we? You were so close, too!"

Star's vision starts to fade, she can't make a noise, not even wheeze, Autumn's grip is so strong. She feels her long nails cut into the side of her throat.

"I _could_ crush your entire windpipe right now, but that's _so_ boring. Here, here, we have options!"

She lets go of Star's throat, which is followed by a series of long gasps and thick coughing. She tries to push the girl off, but the haze that is her vision combined with the otherworldly strength of… whatever's sitting on top of her proves that to be an impossible task. Autumn reaches into her hoodie to pull out a small paring knife, looking it over and brushing it off like a girl would a new makeup brush before turning her oddly red eyes over to Star.

"Now listen, I'm giving you a lesson right now, so I want you to pay attention. Like I said, this is the only time I'm helping you!" She pauses, and then shrugs.

"Well if you'd like to remain silent, I'll let you take the back seat, but…"

She clutches the knife with both hands,

"we're sending a message."

and brings it down over Star's stomach.

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Loser! Loser, loser, loser! Ha!"

Danny raises his controller over his head and cheers for himself. Tucker grumbles and crosses his arms.

"It's all because of these _dumb_ nerfs, they're pointless, they just ruined the class."

"Tuck, I- what? You're _below my level,_ you shouldn't be beating me. It's balanced!"

"Balanced?! I clearly outplayed you!"

Sam snorts in the background while looking at her own laptop, and Tucker squints his eyes at her.

"Hehhe, I couldn't resist, heh."

Tucker starts to argue back, but Danny's phone rings his emergency tone, and everyone instantly goes silent. Sam and Tucker both stand up and hover over Danny, who pulls the phone out of his pocket and checks the contact.

"Star."

Sam looks at him. "Are you-"

Danny immediately answers. "Hello? Star?"

Sam and Tucker look at each other and then at Danny. They lean close to try to hear what's coming through the phone, but Danny pushes them away and stands up.

"Star? You there?" He waits for another few seconds, covers one ear with his hand, and then looks at the screen and frowns. Tucker peeks over his shoulder.

"It's connected…"

"Maybe she accidentally called?"

"Tuck, track the number. Now." Danny hands him the phone and walks over to the computer. "Do either of you know her address?"

Sam shakes her head. "No, I don't. I'll look it up through the school directory."

Danny checks the time.

 _7:13 PM. I talked to her at 4:30, she left at 5. She walked home, so her house is probably at most 15 minutes away…_

"Found it, coordinates are-" Tucker rattles off a series of numbers that Danny searches through Google Maps. It leads to a house on the north side of town. He takes note of the house number and streets and transforms in a flash of light.

"I'm going, I'll be on the Fenton Phones."

"We're coming too-"

"No, stay here but be prepared to move, I'll keep in contact if I need you to cut someone off."

Danny phases the entire contents of his bag onto the floor and picks up a thermos and an earpiece, and then bolts through the ceiling. He holds his phone to his ear the entire time, still hearing absolutely nothing through the speaker.

"Star, can you hear me, Star? I'm sending Phantom to your location, can you respond?"

Still nothing. He flies faster.

"Danny?"

Danny's breath catches before he realizes that it's Sam calling through the Fenton phones.

"Ah, yeah. Sam. Anything?"

"Yeah, the coordinates that you're heading to _are_ her house."

He spots the building on the next block and starts to decrease his elevation.

"Good to know, I'm coming up on the place now. My ghost sense hasn't gone off once during the flight, I don't know if that's good or a bad, though."

He spots Paulina's house out of the corner of his eye, and takes note of Star's home's location in relation to it.

"Okay, we'll keep quiet. Give us as info when you can."

"Got it."

Danny descends down through the front door of the house and hovers in the entryway. He notices the jacket and hat that Star was wearing up on a hook next to the entrance. He checks the door and spots the security system. Both are locked. He flies around the entire first floor, finding nothing out of the ordinary, and then zips up the stairway into the second floor. He stops at the top of the stairs and peeks around the corner, stopping to stare at a pale glowing star at one end of the hallway.

Danny instantly gets a foreboding feeling in his gut and swallows thickly. His hands tremble, and he _really_ doesn't want to open- no, even approach that door.

Then, he hears a faint metallic whisper and swings around in a circle to find the source of the noise, only to look down at the phone in his hands. He jerks the phone up to his ear.

"Star?!" he frantically whispers. Faint, pained breathing is heard on the other side.

"Dan-ny…?"

Danny flies through the door before he even realizes he did, stopping to look wildly around the room. No Star.

"Star?" He asks, and freezes, not even touching the ground in the fear of making a noise.

More shuffling- there. A closed door.

He throws it open, disregarding any and all use of his powers.

And all he can see is red.


	13. 10: Flowing (Ch 3) & Weak

Danny was used to seeing injured individuals. Heck, _he_ was injured more often than he could keep track of. Right now there were a few raw burns rubbing at the inside of his suit that stung like hell, but that's small. Manageable. Normal.

He's seen ghosts that were injured almost to the point of non-existence, ectoplasm flowing from their bodies as smoothly as water. Ectoplasm flowing from _him_ as freely as water. That's normal too, in this business. Ectoplasm was… weird. It was green, viscous, had a citrusy-toxic smell that was both pleasant and not at the same time. It took Danny a long time to finally grasp it as the life-blood of his ghost kind, and even now he doesn't have what he would think would be the proper reaction to it. It felt… fake. It was easy to think that it was a cheap Halloween trick. It didn't really make him uncomfortable.

But real blood, human, red, coppery blood… he had an instinctual drive to get _away_ when he saw it. Terror pierced through his heart like a well-sharpened spear. You _can't_ imagine it's fake, the texture is too real, the red hues changing based on their length of stay on their chosen surface. And then… the _smell._ Coppery, thick, overwhelming. And lastly, the way it soaks into anything and everything, forever leaving an imprint of the trauma sustained there.

Danny was used to ectoplasm. He wasn't used to blood.

So when he entered that bathroom expecting the worst, he somehow got _more_ than he expected, and froze. Unsure of what a 16 year old kid with mild experience bandaging burns, cuts and the odd broken bone could _possibly_ due in this scenario. So he hovered there, perfectly still, unbreathing, eyes wide, glowing, waiting.

Then, a twitch, a breath, pulled him out of the endless void that was his mind and brought him back to reality. He was the hero, the hope. He was the _only_ one that could do anything right now. It's as per usual, really. So just do what you should. He was thinking like that a lot recently.

Danny bends down to touch Star's shoulder. She's lying face down, wearing a towel, a pool of sticky red beneath her. He doesn't touch it, feet hovering centimeters away. He's afraid to.

"Star? Star!" he gently shakes her, tries to get a response, some movement, anything.

There- a whisper, just barely audible. A plea, _help._

"I'm here, I'm here. We're gonna get you somewhere safe."

His hands hover over her form, unaware of where the injuries are worst and where should be safe touch her. (His mind supplies _nowhere, leave her and get_ _ **out**_ , but his obsession disgustingly pushes that thought away) He spreads his intangibility over her and gently lifts her off of the ground and into his arms, refastening the towel around her torso. He sees the source of the red oozing from her body- deep gashes in her stomach, and one long gouge all the way from her left eyebrow to her chin, down her entire face. Star shivers once she's settled in his arms.

Danny looks around and creates a low-level duplicate to pick up her red, sticky phone and a blanket from her room. (His breathing is shaky.) As the copy does that, he also radios Sam and Tucker.

"Guys, meet me at Sam's house. I'm bringing her. She's hurt, bad."

Sam has the best medkit out of all of them, although that probably won't mean much with… _this_ extent of injuries.

"Got it, we're going but… wouldn't it be better to bring her to a hospital?"

Danny shakes his head despite nobody being there to see him. "No, it's- I don't know if they can fix this. I think… I think I can do better. Just meet me there." His duplicate drapes the blanket over Star and then takes a glance at himself- and trembles. The white symbol on Danny's chest, his gloves, and his boots are all completely stained in blood- but that doesn't even compare to how much is covering Star.

He has to hurry.

Danny dissipates the clone and shoots off through the ceiling, flying as fast as he possibly can without jostling his rider around too much. Her body shivers intermittently.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry- we're almost there. I'll- I've got you."

"Dan-ny?" She barely opens her eyes and looks into his, her face is pale and covered in dried blood, making her look dead and sickly. He hopes it won't be permanent.

"Yeah, I got you Star, don't worry. You're… I- You'll be fine. I promise."

"Wh… where…?"

"Someplace safe, someplace safe. We'll take care of your injuries and you'll sleep for a little, but everything'll be fine."

As Danny approaches the Manson residence he notices Sam and Tucker's mopeds speeding down the street. He flies through the window and gently places Star down on the plush carpeting.

 _Sorry Sam, gonna have to get another deep clean._

He arranges her to lie completely straight and then carefully peels the now soaked blanket off of her, revealing the once-white towel that's now a deep, dark red. He heads to Sam's closet and pulls out two black towels and replaces the white one with those, tossing the ruined one in the pile with the blanket. He parts the two towels at her waist to reveal the wounds and looks them over closely.

He can see a faint glimmering iridescence within them, like how you can see oil making rainbows in street puddles. Ectoplasm. Trace amounts, but enough to do damage.

Sam and Tucker burst into the room.

They both freeze, the same way Danny did upon seeing the scene himself. Sam's the first one to snap out of it, heading to her closet and digging in the back to pull out a huge box, a medkit. Tucker closes the door behind him and stands pressed against it for a few more seconds, turning completely pale. Danny averts his eyes from him.

"Sorry."

Tucker seems to somewhat come back to his senses and shakes his head. "No dude, it's fine. Well- it's not fine but…" He kneels next to Star on the ground and starts looking her over. "I'm fine. What happened?" Sam comes over and starts pressing against the wounds with bandages. Star groans.

"I'm not sure. I went to her house and found her face down in the bathroom… in a pool of blood."

"Danny, I don't know if we can do anything about this. She probably needs a- a blood transfusion and stitches. Stopping the bleeding… I can do that, but…"

Tucker pulls out his phone and starts taking notes, assessing her damage. Danny responds.

"Sam, I just need you to bandage everything up, keep it tightly closed. Can't bring her to a hospital, there are traces of ectoplasm in her wounds. I'm going to overshadow her and see what I can do. Tuck, I'm going to send a duplicate with you to Star's house to get you inside. Grab her some clothes and anything else you think she might need. The attack happened in the bathroom attached to her bedroom, so it's a mess in there."

Tucker nods and stands. Danny splits a duplicate off to send with him, and then diverts his attention to Sam, helping her out with the bandages. They quietly work in tandem with Danny's intangibility to get the bandages securely wrapped around her waist. Sam cleans off the cut on her face, which is bleeding a decent amount but it's hardly deep, so they neglect that one for now. Danny gently rubs his thumb across the bruises on her throat (clearly in the form of handprints) and knits his brows together.

 _Who… what could have done this? Why? Because she spoke to me?_

He glances at Sam.

 _Is this going to happen to everyone I care about?_

When everything is all bandaged up, Danny leans forward and lays his hand across Star's forehead. He can barely feel any heat coming from her, and her breathing is weak and hoarse.

"Alright, Sam? I'm going to overshadow her. Keep cleaning her off and replacing bandages when you need to, I'll see what I can do. Let me know when the duplicate comes back."

Sam nods, and Danny takes one last look at her as he dives into Star's mind.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Meanwhile, Tucker and the duplicate phase through the front door of Star's home. He drops Tucker into the entryway and lands next to him. He briefly searches through Star's jacket to pull out her house keys and tosses them to Tucker.

"C'mon, her bedroom is upstairs." Danny walks towards the stairwell.

"Woah, I kinda figured she was well-off based on the fact that she's part of the A-List, but this house is _huge_."

Danny nods. "Yeah, I didn't get to take a look when I first got here, but it is pretty big, isn't it?"

They climb the stairs, and Danny holds a ball of energy in his hand to light the way. The shadows around them dip and move with the pulsing of the energy, and the eeriness of it-

A light flips on. Danny takes a breath and looks towards Tucker...

who seems to have a lightswitch. He raises an eyebrow at Danny.

"Ah, yeah… heh." He rubs the back of his neck and steps into the now lit hallway. He points at the door with a star on it sitting at one end.

"Is nobody home?" Tucker asks, walking down the hall while peering into other dark rooms.

"No, not as far as I can tell. Either someone's going to get a… scary surprise when they come home or- I guess nothing will happen." They enter Star's room and look around, Danny quickly shutting the door to the bathroom before Tucker can get a look at it.

"Can you contact Jazz and let her know what happened when we get back? This is _probably_ something she would want to hear about."

Tucker nods. "Sure. Let's grab her stuff and get back fast." He goes to the walk-in closet to collect some of her things, but Danny stops at her bed, noticing something out of place.

He picks up the framed picture of Star and her family and looks up to see a bare nail embedded into the drywall. He turns the photo over, examines it, and then hangs it back up in its place above her bed. He starts to walk away, but turns around and glances at the image one last time, and then heads to the bathroom to grab a few more things- as well as get an estimation of how hard it would be to clean.

After a few minutes, Danny and Tucker emerge from their respective rooms with a change of clothes, a hairbrush, a makeup bag, some pajamas, a toothbrush, a phone charger, a laptop, and a pillow. Tucker crams as much as he can fit into his bag and holds the pillow under one arm.

"Hey, I noticed that photo- the big one over her headboard, was down on her bed for some reason. I put it back, but… it seemed weird."

Tucker glances at the photo as he shoulders his backpack. "Maybe it got knocked down in the struggle? Or Star could have pulled it off earlier."

Danny looks at the photo once more before floating up to Tucker and grabbing his hand.

"I don't know… just thought I should mention it. C'mon, I gotta combine again- let's go."

Tucker nods, and they float through the ceiling and fly back.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Star wasn't feeling great. Sometime during the time that Autumn attacked her she lost consciousness- but not easily. She fought valiantly to stay awake, fearing that the next time she closed her eyes she wouldn't open them again, but she was already so tired, so out of breath. Everything hurt, everything was blurry, dizzy, foggy, dark.

She remembers that Autumn was talking the entire time, but she couldn't figure out what. It almost seemed like she was talking to herself, but not? She'd have to _really_ go over her memory after this to figure out what she said.

If she got the chance.

She woke up at some point and realised that her attacker was gone. Everything was fuzzy and bright, almost dreamlike. She brought her hand up to her face to rub her eyes only to cringe at a stinging sensation. It came back covered in blood, but then again, _everywhere_ was covered in blood. And… did she hear music?  
Right, her phone. It was still playing on the sink.

Wait, phone… she should probably call for help, right?

Right.

She tries to get up but realizes that it's _impossible_ to stand right now. Not even impossible in the hypothetical sense, _literally_ impossible. She does her best to try to flip onto her belly and move over to the counter, which she does do successfully, but uses most of her strength. If she could just reach up…

Aha, there.

She taps on the edge of the phone and pulls it down. It clatters onto the tile floor and Star collapses back down, panting. The world spins more than it already was somehow and- oh shoot, maybe being on her stomach wasn't the best idea. She felt more warmness seeping through her towel.

She opens the phone and- ugh, she was getting the screen all gross.

Focus Star, focus. Your life is on the line.

(Was she in shock?)

She pulls up her dial screen and starts to type 9-1-1, but hesitates.

 _I want you to call me if anything weird happens, okay? I'll put you under a priority contact, so only call me if it's important._

She instead goes to contacts and browses her favorites to find Danny's number, and rings.

The ringing feels a _million_ times longer than anything she's ever waited for, and she can feel herself slipping away right as she relaxes her hand.

" _Hello? Star?"_

 _Danny- help, please._ The words don't come out, and she falls again into blackness.

After that, Star remembers Danny, hears him calling out to her. She figures she's dreaming (or dead) but she responds anyway, in the faint hope that it is real.

"Can you- help?" She slurs the her sentence horribly and curses herself.

" _I'm here, I'm here. We're gonna get you somewhere safe."_

His voice echos, and she's still pretty sure she's in a dream. She can't feel much, but she knows she's cold, and almost feels like she's floating. She closes her eyes at the pleasant feeling, and drifts back to sleep to Danny's voice.

She wakes up and she's cold again. _Really_ cold. She opens her eyes to see the night sky, and Danny's face again, but… wait.

Did he have white hair?

"Dan-ny?"

 _Is that really you? Where am I?_

" _Yeah, I got you Star, don't worry. You're… I- You'll be fine. I promise."_

She still feels that weightless feeling and rolls her head to the side to take in her surroundings, and- dang. She knows she's probably delirious but…

 _Since when could Danny fly?_

She looks out over the cityscape and watches the lights twinkle down below. It's beautiful and peaceful, calming, relaxing.  
And then they start to descend.

 _Oh, I wanted to look for a little longer._

Time seems to skip again and Star comes back to reality in pain. Her stomach throbs, like someone's pushing down on it and-

Oh, someone _is_ pushing down on it. Actually, if she cracks open her eyes she can see that there are a few people hovering around her. Star groans at the pain, but at least she's warm again. She closes her eyes, it's too much work to keep them open.

(She _hates_ the cold.)

She hears Danny's voice for a while, and someone else's, and then a cold hand touches her forehead. Despite her previous protests to the cold, this feels soothing on her throbbing headache. She tries to focus on the words being spoken to understand more about what's going on. Is she in a hospital?

"Alright, I'm going to overshadow her. Keep cleaning her off and replacing bandages when you need to, I'll see what I can do."

 _Wait, overshadow?_

Her entire body feels tingly for a second and Star suddenly thinks back to the last time she was overshadowed, and it was _not_ a pleasant experience. She prepares herself for the cold, gross feeling of being pushed out of _your own mind_ , but it never came. Instead she felt… comfortable, like the feeling you get when you're sitting quietly in a room with someone, not exchanging words yet simply enjoying each other's company.

Well, until they spoke.

 _Star?_

She hesitates a moment, not sure what she should say. Think?

… _Danny?_

He pauses himself. _Heh, uh… if I told you it's not… would you believe me?_

If she could raise her eyebrow in her mind, she would.

 _No. Then again, I'm still a little delirious, as far as I can tell. Is this a dream?_

 _No, you're- This isn't a dream. You're… pretty badly hurt._

 _Is it… am I…_ She struggles to find the words.

 _You'll be fine, uh- probably._

 _I- g… Danny._ _ **Probably?**_

 _I mean, uh, shoot. I think so. Sorry, it's hard to focus while doing a bunch of things at once._

Star pauses and waits. She figures it's probably useless to try to 'think quietly', so she just asks her questions out loud.

 _Danny, how are you doing this? There's something you haven't told me yet, isn't there?_

He hesitates, a series of words rattling through her (their?) heads like rain on a tin roof, and then, silence.

 _Yeah. A lot. I… probably owe you the truth, after this._

Star does the mental equivalent of sighing.

 _Alright, first, tell me how you're doing this._

 _Doing… this?_

 _Yeah, overshadowing me._

 _I- you- didn't you see me?_

Star thinks back to today's prior events, but couldn't remember much about Danny's blurry form except for the fact that he had white hair…

And was… flying.

 _There you go._

 _Hey! Don't- are you eavesdropping on my thoughts?_

 _They were about_ _ **me**_ _, weren't they? And also, I can't really choose to not listen, it's like trying to ignore your own thoughts, it doesn't work. At all. Try masking them with different-_

 _Well, stop it._ She interrupts. _Anyways, are you… are you telling me that_ _ **you're**_ _Phantom?_

Danny feels a bit hurt by the tone of voice she uses. _Hey, I resent that! Of course I'm Phantom! What, is it like, unbelievable or something?_

Star could feel Danny's frustration through her own mind, and was getting frustrated herself.

 _But- you're just Danny Fenton, you're just supposed to be-_ She pauses. _Oh that's a nasty trick with the names, Danny. Real clever._

Her mind-voice drips with sarcasm. Jeez, it's like some sort of echo-chamber-feedback-loop going on in here. Great. Star takes a moment to pause and come back to her senses. Danny grumbles a little bit, but otherwise calms down as well.

 _Okay. You're Phantom, that's cool, that's good, like, whatever. But… how?_

Danny snickers a little bit, and Star gets an instant visual of him rubbing the back of his neck.

 _Uh… heh. Turns out, if you die by a surge of electrified ectoenergy, your ghost becomes bonded to your, um, human cells. Somehow._

Star's entire thought processes stop upon hearing the word 'die'. _Wait, so you're telling me you're-_

 _Star, I'm a ghost. I thought that was kind of obvious? Like, the most obvious part._

Star pinches the bridge of her nose. (Hey, it was getting easier to visualize things now.)

 _Alright, I don't know how to deal with this information, so we're gonna shelve that for now._

 _You're telling me._

 _ **Anyways,**_ She stresses, irritation again rearing its ugly head, _how are you overshadowing me right now? I know you're doing it, but it feels immensely different from other times I've been possessed. It feels… instead of feeling like there's ice locked around my heart, it feels like a cool breeze, or a hug. It's nice._

 _Well, that's because I'm not_ _ **fully**_ _overshadowing you, just your body. I'm letting your mind do whatever it wants. Usually when people get overshadowed the ghost just retains full control since it's uh… easier, and less distracting that way. They suppress the other's mind. Um, by the way, sorry about not asking first, but I'm doing it to heal you._

Star shakes her head. _No Danny, don't worry about it. You've- this saved my life, didn't it?_

Danny hesitates. Star feels guilt and sorrow radiate off of him in waves.

 _You wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for my carelessness. I'm sorry, Star. I'll do what I can to fix it._

 _Danny, don't go blaming this all on you. She, Autumn, she warned me._ _ **I'm**_ _the one that went and searched for you. If you're going to blame anyone, blame me, or even better,_ _ **her**_ _._

Danny seems to contemplate this for a moment before sighing.

 _Right. You're right, 100%. Well, on that last bit. It's_ _ **not**_ _your fault. After you're healed up we'll figure out the ghost who's_ _ **really**_ _behind this and take them out._

 _So it is a ghost? Is Autumn like you, or…?_

Danny laughs harshly. _Ha. Not likely. She's probably being overshadowed or controlled, or got replaced, corrupted, something like that. What I want to know is how long she's been able to fly under my radar, and what she wants with me or you._

 _Then… what are you going to do?_

 _Well, first- get you better. Right now my ghost core is basically think- believing that um, your cells are mine, and that means it's healing them at an accelerated rate. I debated taking you to an actual hospital, but I figured that would create a whole host of problems that I don't think you or I are interested in dealing with right now. That and… your situation was pretty bad. I couldn't- wasn't sure if they could save you. I knew I… well. I knew I had a better chance. Turns out I was right, anyway. You've got an ectoplasmic infection that my core is eating away. They uh, probably couldn't deal with that with meds. Even in Amity._

Star goes over the words Danny said for a little bit, a few questions popping up in her mind. She ignores most of them… except for one.

 _So I did almost… die. If I hadn't called Danny, I for sure would be… Autumn intended to kill me, for real, hadn't she?_

Danny stayed quiet, letting her work through her emotions on her own. He felt each and every one of them, the fear, sadness, guilt, anxiety, the existential crisis of near-death, all of them fully, but he understood, and felt as if she needed to think it out alone. The only thing he did was curl his core closer around her heart, reassuring her that someone was there and that she was safe _now._

After a while, Star speaks up. _Sorry, Danny. I kinda got lost in thought._

 _No, no, this is your mind, you- I'm technically the invader right now._ He chuckles. _In any case, I can tell that you're drowsy, so why don't you just go to sleep for awhile? It's been… an eventful day. For both of us. Getting some rest will do a lot of good._

Star sighs, she _was_ feeling herself struggle to not drift off just now. She's been unconscious on and off occasionally, but she assumes that's not a very good substitute for _real_ sleep.

 _Yeah, I'm… pretty tired._ She laughs. _Thanks, Danny. I'll… see you in the morning I guess? Will you still be here when I wake up?_

 _Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how much I can heal you tonight. I'll let you know as soon as you wake up if I'm still here or not. Oh- do we need to let your parents or someone know you're gone? There was nobody at your house when I got there, but I don't know._

Danny doesn't receive a response, and assumes that Star already dozed off. He recedes from her mind and quietly opens Star's eyes, looking into Sam's.

"Hey." Star's (Danny's?) voice comes out extremely hoarse and cracked, and he goes into a dry coughing fit.

"Hey. D- uh, Phantom?"

He tries to nod, but the pain in his neck causes him to cringe.

"Ouch freaking everything hurts, yeah, it's me. And she knows, so don't worry about that."

"How much?"

"Everything, pretty much. If not, I'll tell her."

"Okay, I kinda figured… weirdly enough, I couldn't tell if it was you or her. Star's eyes are green too, you know." She reaches into the medkit and pulls out a few things.

"Yeah, um… can you get me some water? And a straw?"

Sam affixes the last bandage she was changing and stands up.

"Sure, I just got a text from Tucker that said he was on his way back, just so you know."

"Thanks."

Sam leaves the room, and Danny takes a moment to asses the damage. He closes his eyes and focuses on the pooling of ectoplasmic energy in Star's body.

 _Injuries to the face, back of the head, neck, waist, thighs, and left ankle. The most severe are definitely the waist, neck, and head in that order. She might also be concussed._

He sighs, which turns into a wheeze, and thinks to himself.

 _Sorry Star, I'm going to have to dig a little deeper._

He again closes his eyes, and delves into her memories.

TTTTTTTTTTTT

"Danny… Danny?"

"Hmmm?"

Sam and Tucker walk into the room, followed by his duplicate. Duplicate-Danny speaks instead of Star-Danny.

(Man, this is getting confusing, isn't it?)

"I'm checking her memories for more info about what exactly happened." Danny sits down. "I'm almost finished, give me a second."

Sam and Tucker also take a seat, the former resuming her position by Star's side and the latter taking the bed. Tucker starts to pull out all of Star's things from his backpack, and Sam hands him Star's (now cleaned) phone. He takes it and plugs it in.

"Think you can find her phone passcode too? I'll see if we should contact her parents and let them know she's gone." He fiddles with it and checks the battery, ensuring there's no damage.

Danny pauses for a moment and thinks.

"4826."

"Thanks." Tucker taps on her phone for a while and lies down. Sam gets back to cleaning things up and tossing out bandages, and they kind of just sit in silence for a bit. There's tension, but not as much as you'd expect.

Then, Star-Danny opens his eyes, and the duplicate poofs.

"Oh man, that feels so much better."

"Hey dude, are things going alright with Star? I texted Jazz, she'll probably be here in a half an hour." Tucker sits up and puts down the phones he was using.

"Thanks, and yeah, she's uh, stable now. Sleeping though. I've figured out what needs to heal first, and I think I'll be able to walk and stuff by tomorrow. I might need to stay with her for longer than that though, probably. I'm still pretty drained from the fight with Ember."

"Have you figured out what happened?" Sam asks.

Danny nods and blinks a few times. "Yeah, for the most part. Do you know who Autumn is? I think she's in your English class with Lancer."

Sam looks at Danny inquisitively. "Yeah… she's… I wouldn't call her a friend really, or even an acquaintance. I see her at the Skulk n' Lurk and at poetry slams every once in awhile. Why?"

Danny sighs. "Well, I think she's being possessed… maybe. Or corrupted, um… I'm not exactly sure. There is something weird up with her."

Sam runs her hand through her hair. "Well… do we confront her? Try to get the ghost out? Sic your parents on her?"

Danny chews on his lip. "I'm not sure. I'm gonna be out of commission for a while, so I think moving um, forward we'll probably try to get Star some Fenton tech to defend herself and do more investigation while I res- rec… recuperate." His words begin to slur, but he struggles through it. "Don't wanna confront her just yet, not while- not like this." Danny coughs a few times after this, and Sam brings a water bottle to his lips. He takes a long drink and clears his throat.

"Better?"

"Mhm, much."

Danny was starting to get woozy, something that commonly happens after sustaining serious injuries. He mumbles to Sam and Tucker.

"Let Jazz know what happened, I'm- I can barely keep m'eyes open anymore."

"Sure man, what should we do about the bathroom?" Tucker moves over next to Danny and takes a seat on the floor.

"Mmm? Ask Jazz, she's smart. Ya got keys now." He lifts his forearm and weakly gestures towards… something, and his eyes flutter close. Sam and Tucker look at him fondly, and then laugh.

Now that they know things are going to be _mostly_ alright, they felt they could finally breathe again.


	14. 11: Cruel

**A/N: Woo to me for updating at one in the morning! Also, sorry for all the cliffies, but I couldn't resist. ;)**

A black mist seeps into a small, dingy room on the edge of Amity Park. Leaking from the very walls, the mist sinks to the ground and snakes to the center of the room, collecting into a single location and forming a semi-humanoid shape crumpled on the cold, hard floor.

Autumn begins to materialize from the mist, and once she fully forms, more mist leaks out of her mouth. The new mist is red, and rises instead of sinks. It morphs into a large, slender shape, and takes the form of a thin, grey ghost with red eyes, shining fangs, and long, white, wispy hair. Lengthy, pointed fingers reach up in the air, and the creature's mouth opens to reveal a tapered pale tongue. It stretches and yawns, its ghostly tail flicking back and forth contentedly.

"Euuargh! Jeez, how do you live in that cramped _thing_ you call a body? Ugh, it gives me the willies just _being_ in there. Whew."

The ghost's comments go unheard of by the girl, who's began to cough, sob, and retch. She crawls, staggering, over to the bathroom of the small apartment and leans on the toilet, vomiting into the white porcelain. The ghost meanders over and takes a seat (if you could call it that) next to her, rubbing their back and making soothing cooing noises all the while.

"There, there, that's a common reaction for your first killing, but you start to lose that feeling over time. I hate to say that you get used to it, but… well… you get used to it!"

Autumn finishes gagging and harshly slaps the ghost's hand away, backing into the corner of the bathroom. The ghost simply smiles eerily at her, its red/black eyes wide and childish.

It disgusts her.

"Stay away! This isn't what I wanted! You're a- a horrible creature!" She wipes her mouth, and looks down at her arms which are absolutely _covered_ in dried blood. She starts to hyperventilate, and rubs madly at the red stains all over her body.

"Technically child, I'm a ghost, not a creature. Different states of matter and all that." It floats up and moves closer to her, flipping onto its back. "Different levels of _being_." It pauses. "Not that you would know that!" It giggles.

" _I don't care!_ " She stands up to put some distance between the two of them and starts the shower, ripping the curtain open and standing in the ice-cold water, clothes, shoes, and all. She takes the bar of soap and rubs it vigorously over her skin. Autumn starts to shiver violently, but she needs to get it _off,_ send it _away._ The ghost floats up to her, right outside the shower, and watches quietly.

She starts to rub at her clothes as well as her skin. Even though they're black, she can still _feel_ the sticky, crusty mess clinging to them. She rubs on her stomach and feels something in her hoodie's pocket. Thinking it's her phone, she reaches in and-

"Agh!"

She pulls her hand out holding the item and looks at it, the paring knife, the weapon. Her hand now sports a thin slice down its palm where it cut her.

Her eyes widen and she screams, throwing the knife across the room and simultaneously slipping in the tub, coming down hard on her rear. The knife drifts harmlessly through the ghost and clinks across the tile, coming to a stop in the corner Autumn was just crouched in. Pink tinged water drips off of it, collecting in a small pool beneath it. She pants, keeping her eyes locked on the damning thing.

Tears, the only warmth she's felt since Star's blood flowed across her hands, drip down her face. She whimpers, and then curls into a ball, her eyes pressing into her knees.

The ghost looks between her and the knife, its smile falling. It silently floats over and picks up the blade, phasing off the water and rubbing the majority of the blood off with its long fingers. It comes back to the shower and sits in the tub with Autumn. The ghost is unfazed by the temperature of the water, but it turns the handle to hot and washes the remainder of the blood off of the knife.

"You know, you'll want to keep this."

Autumn glances up from her knees, and feels the water slowly grow warmer. She just stares at the ghost, who looks at the knife with an emotion she can't particularly discern. She doesn't respond.

It continues, regardless.

"Daggers, muskets, swords, weapons-" It holds the knife up to the light. "they represent power, they represent strength, and self-sufficiency, just like any other tool. As a tailor earns his keep with scissors and a needle, a sellsword earns _his_ with a blade and a shield." It brings the knife back down and rubs it with its thumb.

"What we did tonight was take the first step in _giving_ you power, rather than you and I being the ones to relinquish it to someone else. We steered our own fates today, and however much you might hate me, or this situation, _that_ is a step in the right direction."

" _I_ didn't steer _anything_." Her voice drips with venom. " _You controlled me._ You controlled _everything._ "

"Ah, but girl-" it leans in, reducing its voice to hardly a whisper. " _I_ can only do things if _you_ have the desire. It's in our contract, after all."

Autumn softens a bit, but her voice is still harsh. "I thought that you didn't have to do things the way I want them done. Tonight proved that."

"A simplification." It says, idly turning the knife over in its hand. "The end goal has to be desired, for example with killing someone, you have to _want_ to kill them, or someone, but I can use any method; burning, strangulation, stabbing, etcetera."

She pulls her body closer to herself, and more tears gather at her eyes. "I don't believe you." she says quietly. "I couldn't- didn't."

The ghost sets the knife down on the edge of the tub and leans even closer to her. She backs away from the chill. "Just because you regret something doesn't mean you didn't want it at the time." It rubs her head. "And, in any case, I don't lie to you. I can't. I wouldn't even try, because I don't want to."

Autumn shakes her head to remove its hand from it. "If you… _'care'_ so much, then why don't you listen to me? Why didn't you stop when I said so? Listen when I proposed an- an alternative?"

"Because this is what you needed." It removes its hand from her head and rises. "As I said before, this is a first step. In order to gain power, there must be sacrifice, in one way or another. For me, it was my family's lives, for Phantom, it was his own, for you… you're the lucky one." It looks at her, and she meets its eyes. "You only have to sacrifice the lives of those who you care nothing for."

"I don't _have_ anyone to care for anymore. Everyone I ever loved is gone, they either died or left me to rot in this godforsaken apartment." A pause.

"And nobody cares about me anymore either." she quietly adds.

The ghost looks at her sullenly, peering down with eyes that look _so_ understanding to Autumn, it hurts.

"You're wrong, Autumn." It says.

It turns around and turns off the shower. The water, which has since gone cold, ceases, and she removes her hand from one of her shins to move her wet hair out of her face. The ghost leans down and wraps itself around her, tail and all, and despite Autumn's previous protests, she leans into the gentle contact- the first she's had in _years._

"I do care. It might not seem it, but I want what's best for you. I saw what happened, I know you want- no- _deserve_ retribution for what they all did for you. You want to feel in control again, you want to show them the hurt that they gave to you, and you want to feel safe."

It presses its forehead to hers. "I can give you all that and more. I just need you to _trust me._ "

Autumn closes her eyes and relaxes, letting the ghost support the weight of her body.

She recalls the last time she truly trusted someone, and the hurt she felt when they betrayed her.

She doesn't want to feel that again, but this ghost… if it really _was_ telling the truth, it can't do the same thing. It _can't_ hurt her.

But was she willing to take that risk?

She exhales a shaky breath and stands up. The ghost floats up to the same height and gingerly takes her hand. She allows it, and it turns Autumn intangible, drying her. She takes a glance down at herself and notices she's clean. Clean of the blood, the sweat, the fear. She looks back up and makes a decision.

It's not like she had any other options, anyway.


	15. 12: Angular

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been posting lately, finals and all that. We should be back on track now, and a few chapters a week at that. I always consider trying to write a few more than I need and building up a buffer, but I'm just like** _ **"naaaaaaaah I'll post it right away."**_

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

Star is rudely awakened by a bright light shining in her eyes and a sore back.

No wait, check that, _everything_ was sore - as to be expected. She groans at the pain and cracks her eyes open, seeing three familiar forms hovering over her and staring.

"Uh, hi?"

"Good morning… Star?" Jazz says, twisting her name into a question. She tilts her head a bit.

 _Seems like it runs in the family._

"Yeah, it's me. Is Danny still…?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, he's probably still sleeping. Healing generally takes a lot out of him."

"Oh. Cool." Star awkwardly examines the room she's in. Dark purple walls, a myriad of records, a gaming system, and various posters accent the decor. She looks down at herself and notices that her waist and chest are wrapped in bandages, and she's gained her pajama pants. She feels a twinge of embarrassment knowing that either Sam or Jazz likely got her into some clothes, but it doesn't linger. She waits a bit, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the group, but eventually thinks _screw it_.

"Did you guys get any sleep?" she asks, and for a moment, all eyes are on her. They glance at each other.

Jazz shrugs. "We took shifts, but we're used to it by now. How are _you_ feeling?"

Star tries to shift before grimacing and responding. "Sore, and really stiff." She pauses. "And pretty hungry too, I guess. The last thing I ate was a shake at the Nasty Burger."

Tucker nods in agreement. "Heck yeah, I can get with that. I'm starving." He looks at Sam for a second, and she pulls out her phone.

"I can get us a few pizzas if you want from the 24-hour place. What do you like, Star?"

"Anything's fine, I'm not picky."

"Oh really?" Sam types a few things in on her phone. "If you say so. Tuck, the usual?"

" _Triple_ meat, if you could." He smiles at her and blinks a few times, and Sam rolls her eyes.

"Anything's fine for me too, and oh- Star." Jazz stands up and brings Tucker's backpack over. "We got a few things from your house, average sleepover stuff. If you need anything else I can run over and grab them for you, but you should be able to sit up soon if Danny's estimations were right, and probably walking by the end of the day."

"Really? Wow, that's… pretty amazing." She raises her hand up to her head and touches her face, gingerly tapping the injured area. She feels a small stirring at the back of her mind, and then a long yawn.

 _Huaaaah~ you should see me when I'm actually functional if you think that's cool._

"Danny?"

The rest of the people in the room pause, and Danny laughs.

 _Mhmm. You can just 'think' to talk to me if you don't want them to hear... like, a one-sided conversation._

Star looks at the group and sees them smiling.

"Nah, this is probably fine. My head hurts too much to think that hard anyway."

 _Well, it's up to you. What time is it, by the way?_

"Hey guys, what time is it?" Star asks. Sam checks her phone again.

"About 5:45, and hey Star, if you want to do us a favor, tell us before you two switch, okay? We can't really tell if it's you or Danny, and I _know_ he's going to want to mess with us." She rolls her eyes.

 _Whaaaat? No, of course not. They're telling lies, don't believe them._

"He says to not believe you."

 _You weren't supposed to tell them that!_

"Oops."

Everyone laughs, enjoying the lighthearted moment before Star breaks out in another coughing fit. Sam leans behind her and grabs a bottle of water, uncapping it and bringing it to her lips. Star drinks a fair amount before thanking her.

 _Hm. If it's alright with you, I'm going to swap with you to check out your injuries and stuff… is that okay?_

Star thinks for a second, preparing herself to have that weird feeling of losing feeling of… well… your _entire body,_ then nods. "Yeah, it's fine. Oh- before that though, can I see my phone?"

Tucker shuffles over to the bed and unplugs her phone, handing it to her.

"I cleaned it up and told your parents you weren't going to be home for a while- for a sleepover, but they didn't respond."

Star sighs. "Yeah, that's typical. They probably won't be home til Tuesday or something like that, so we don't really have to worry. It's good you sent that text though, I usually sleep over at Pauly's so they won't think it's weird." She cycles through her recent notifications to glance at the other messages received. A number from Pauly and Kwan, and a few in their group chat. She puts her phone down once she decides that none of them need her immediate attention. They're not going to be up this early anyway.

"Okay Danny, um… I'm ready."

 _Mkay. I don't know if you remember from last time, but you'll feel like you're falling for a second._

"Okay."

Star closes her eyes and steels herself, waiting for that strange feeling again. Her body tingles and then feels as if she's being slowly lowered into a warm bath, a shockingly different sensation than before. Once she feels as if she's been 'fully submerged' she reopens her eyes to see a misty rendition of the view from before, with all eyes on her for a third time that morning.

"Danny?" Sam asks. Danny smirks a bit, and Sam raises an eyebrow. He rolls his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, it's me." He sits up and stretches, yawning once again.

 _What? Danny! I could barely move!_

 _Ahaha, sorry. I'm used to it. Your wounds have closed enough for it to be alright to move around now, the pain isn't too bad, for me at least._

"You good?" Tucker asks.

"Yeah." Danny scoots over next to the bed and uses it to support his back. "Sam or Jazz, can you take off the bandages so I can check on things?"

Star gets anxious again at the realization that she's not wearing a shirt underneath the bandages, and Danny glances at Tucker.

"And Tuck, uh… mind grabbing some ecto-dejecto from my place?"

Tucker raises his hands and shakes his head. "Say no more dude, I'll be back."

Danny nods, and Tucker leaves the room. Danny speaks up.

 _Thanks, Danny._

 _No problem. I can tell most of how you're feeling- uh… sorry by the way- so I knew how you felt._

 _It's kind of dumb though, after all you guys have done._

 _It's understandable to want some privacy, and we're a… pretty understanding group, we have to be._ He laughs

Star giggles as well. _I've noticed._

"Earth to Danny, hello?"

Danny removes his hand from the back of his neck and glances up at a Sam waving her hand in his face.

"Ah… ha. Sorry. It's uh, hard to keep track of two conversations at once."

Sam shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna start to cut off the bandages, it'll probably be easier that way. I'll keep the top half on, Star."

Star lets out a quick breath. _Tell her I said thanks._

"She said thanks. I can tell she's got a fractured, maybe broken rib, but she can probably get into regular clothes after this."

 _Um, you might have to do that Danny. I can't really move much._

 _Yeah, I'll have Sam and Jazz help._

Sam rummages through the medkit and pulls out a scalpel that glints in the morning sunlight. Sam says something, but it's lost in the sudden panic that's surging through Star's mind, unable to tear her gaze away from the sharpened steel. She can feel her body's breathing quicken, and she becomes confused and frustrated at the sensation, further escalating the panic.

 _I'm… why? What's going on?_

Star can feel Danny take a deep breath and calm a bit. Sam's voice is still in the background, feeling surprisingly soothing to hear... reassuring. The dread recedes, but she can still feel her heartbeat thrumming frantically in her chest. Danny swallows, still keeping his eyes on the scalpel carefully cutting through fabric.

 _S-sorry, Star. That's me. Scalpels and surgeries and… stuff. Not really… um, they're pretty scary to me I guess. I freaked out a bit there._

 _Oh, yeah, I was… confused. I'm not typically- like... needles don't bother me or anything._

She pauses for a second, and the sound of Danny's mind racing a mile a minute comes to the forefront of her thoughts. She's not even sure he heard her.

 _Danny? Are you going to be okay?_

 _Uh… yeah._ Danny closes his eyes and it's suddenly like a curtain's been pulled across a window. It feels as if the two of them are the only ones in existence.

 _Any particular reason you're… afraid?_

Danny shrugs. _When you're basically a walking scientific contradiction there's a lot of people who'd want to d..._ _ **analyze**_ _you. Heck, people already want to analyze Phantom without knowing he has a human side. Kind of makes you nervous._

Star sees a few images- people- flash through Danny's memories, recognizing a few of them.

 _I- your parents._

 _Yeah..._

She remembers the few times that the Fentons have been on the scene alongside the ghost boy as well as recalls (from Paulina's venting, mostly) that they aren't particularly fond of Phantom. As Star brings her attention back to her current resident, she can tell that Danny's getting more distressed as this conversation goes on. Nevertheless, a few more questions rattle through her mind, but she hastily drowns them out.

 _Sorry Danny for bringing that up, the questions and comments and stuff, they just… they kind of pop into my mind._

Danny shakes his head. _No, no, it's not a problem. It's hard to hide your curiosities when you're inside each other's heads._ He pauses for a second. _I don't even think we can lie in here, at least not without the other knowing._

Star giggles. _Boy, would Pauly love to get a shot at this. An honest interview with the famous ghost boy._

Danny grimaces. _Yeah, remind me to never possess Paulina then. That would be a nightmare._

 _Oh boy, imagine if she figured out that the boy that she dreams about marrying is actually Danny Fenton…_

 _Yeah, I really… that's not an um… ugh._

"Alright, I've removed the bandages on her waist. Do you need help getting to a mirror?"

Danny opens his eyes and shakes his head, thankful for the distraction. "No, I think I'm good." He stands up without much effort, and Star gapes.

Danny laughs. _Like I said, a little more durable. Now that I'm awake my healing has sped up a good amount, too. You should be able to walk on your own by the end of the day._

Danny makes his way over to the bathroom for both Star and himself to take a look. He stands in Sam's full-length mirror and waits, observing her wounds closely

 _Gosh, you stand like such a boy-_

Star's thoughts go silent as she takes in her appearance. A deep red line and a few yellowed bruises mar her otherwise clear face, enough that Star has to rationalize that _it_ _ **is**_ _her_ she's seeing. Her hair is wild, matted, and her usually platinum blonde hair takes on a coppery tinge from the dried flecks of blood scattered throughout it. She can faintly see the bruises on her neck, wrapping around her like a noose, and more half-healed bruises peek out of the mess of bandages tied over her chest.

But that's not the worst. Star looks at her stomach and can feel tears prick at her eyes. She moves her hand down- when did Danny give her control of her body? -and flutters her fingertips over the scarred area, her skin bunching and pinching in ways that it never should. Dried blood lingers in the cracks the wounds make, having being underneath the bandages all this time.

Star gets the immediate urge to start scratching at every speck of blood on her, getting it _off, off, off,_ and comes close to doing so before an unseen force halts her hands mere millimeters from her stomach. The tears bubble over, and Star feels her strength weakening. Her legs shake and give out, and a strong arm catches her from falling. She doesn't look up to see who it is, but they gently lower her to the ground and simply let her cry.

She sits there for a while, her cut stinging as she rubs her tears down into it, but the pain is secondary- a million more things are running through her mind.

She vaguely notices some time pass and the door behind her shut, as well as the absence of anyone else near her. She sits with her thoughts for a while, wondering if Danny has made himself quiet to give the illusion that she was alone- before realizing that she didn't really care. He's learned more about her in the span of a few hours than she's ever told anyone _ever_.

Not that it surprised her, given the circumstances.

"Star?"

 _Danny?_ She calls out to him in her mind, only to raise her head and see his iconic white t-shirt in front of her, kneeling.

She didn't miss how he was blocking the mirror.

"I was trying to reach you, but… you couldn't hear me." He bites his lip and leans down further to look her in the eyes. "I was trying to tell you that- um, your injuries, they'll be almost invisible after healing." He pulls up his t-shirt sleeve to point out a faint line that curves around his arm and disappears towards his shoulder blade. "The one on your face wasn't nearly as deep as this one, and you can barely see it, right? A-as long as I'm with you for the next day or so it should be-"

"That's… I don't care about that Danny. Not as much as you'd think." she mumbles. He lets his arm fall to his side and just… listens.

"I'm just… it's been a lot." She looks up at him and notices that this is the first time she's seen his real, _human_ face since the Nasty Burger. "It was too easy to just… think it was all a dream or something."

The both of them sit there for a little bit, Danny awkwardly thinking about what to do while Star picks at the grime beneath her nails.

"Do you… want me to get Jazz? She's good at the psychology stuff and um… she..." he trails off when he sees Star silently shake her head. He deflated at that, furrowing his brow.

"I want to take a shower." She whispers. "But I don't think I can stand."

Danny bites his lip again. "If you can let me heal you a little bit more then I think… in a few hours, you'll-"

"I want to take one _now._ " She interrupts, still barely audible to a normal human- but firm.

Danny sighs, looking at Star and then around the bathroom. He thinks for a little bit, and then stands.

"I'll be right back, I'll grab some clean towels… I- um... would you rather have Sam or Jazz help you?"

She thinks for a moment. Honestly, she would rather have Danny help her, but she can understand his apprehension.

"Jazz."

"Okay, um, I'll get her then." He heads over to the tub and runs the bath, plugging the drain and dumping some soap in after peering quizzically at each label. Star smirks a little at that, and then Danny is replaced by a soft speaking redhead.

Jazz and Star don't exchange any more words than the necessary, and she's thankful. She wonders if Danny had something to do with that, but doesn't dwell on it too long, instead focusing on rubbing the red off of every inch of skin she could easily reach. The soap stings, but only a little bit, probably not enough to aggravate her wounds too much.

 _Hopefully this won't give Danny any more trouble._ She thinks.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Star finishes her bath and Jazz helps get her dressed in a baggier, off-the-shoulder top and leggings. The only bandages she wears now are new, clean ones on her stomach, and even then they're mostly to keep her wounds from rubbing.

"I'll go get Danny to help you into the other room."

Star nods, and Jazz opens the door, beckoning Danny over and stepping back out of the bathroom. Danny takes her place and takes a seat next to Star on the side of the tub.

"Um, are you… feeling better?" He asks.

Star shrugs. "My head still hurts, but I feel a lot better now that I'm clean."

"Good, good." He pauses. "Pizza's here. We saved you some pepperoni, and I think there's still more veggie left if you want that."

"That would be nice. Did you eat?"

He gives her a small smile. "Yep, I'm all ready to resume healing, and I've gained back some energy too. I'm ready when you are."

"I'm… I'm good. Go ahead."

Danny nods once again and stands, backing away a few steps to transform. White bands bleed up his body, starting at his feet, and Star stares at them as they travel over his form, replacing black hair with white and creating a hazy glow across his body. He notices Star staring and smirks, only giving her a quick "Here we go!" before overshadowing her.

 _Danny!_

"What?" He stands up and glances in the mirror, fixing his top before walking back into the bedroom.

 _Give me a better warning next time!_ She yells, but there isn't a hint of malice in her voice, so Danny laughs.

"What are you talking about? I _did_ warn you." He takes a seat next to his friends. "So, what kind of pizza do you like?"

 **A/N: I'm sure a few of you are confused about the transformation Danny showed Star. I'm running with Hartman's testimony that said Danny knows how to morph in multiple ways, he chose this one (a bleed effect that began at his feet and slowly traveled upward) because he wanted to save Star's eyes from the flash as well as conserve energy. I have a few ideas for his transformations that I'm excited to use!**


	16. 12: Angular (2)

**A/N: The Ethereal Shade: Thanks for the review, I love your work as well! Like I've said previously, I do like to keep things lighthearted if I can. Of course, there are going to be times that are rough, but our favorite ghost-fighting team'll get through them!**

 **Probably.**

Throughout the rest of the day, Star gets the chance to actually _talk_ with Danny and his friends and notices that they have _a lot_ more to say than any of her A-List buddies. It's kind of refreshing, really. Danny walks her through a lot of the background information on ghosts that gets brought up in conversation (which gets a little confusing, turns out ghosts are a lot more complicated than she, or anyone else in Amity likely thought) but even so, she genuinely enjoys her time there. The friendships seem deeper and more genuine, but whether that's caused by the hardships they've faced or simply their personalities... she couldn't say. She hopes it's the latter.

Either way, Star finds herself craving that type of connection. Paulina's nice and all, and (contrary to what others would believe) a very good friend, but this seems… different.

 _I wonder if... it'd be all right for me to come over sometimes?_

It's just a small thought, but Star momentarily forgets that Danny hears _all of_ her thoughts, even the small ones.

"Danny, hey- space cadet, pay attention." Sam snaps her fingers in front of Danny's face, bringing him back to reality.

"Hm? Uh, sorry... what?"

Sam rolls her eyes. "What even was that smile? Anyways, Jazz was asking you a question."

"Oh, sure. Sorry."

"I was wondering if you thought there was anything else she needed." Jazz points down to the assortment of Fenton tech littering the ground.

Danny figures it's best to just describe each one to Star now as they're introducing them. "Spectre Deflector, one of the new ones too. It's in a smaller model, but can stop even me from touching you unless I want to get a nasty shock. It's probably best if you wear this every day, if you can."He turns it over in his hands. The new model is a smaller, black belt with green circuitry patterns running over it. "This one is designed in a way so that it can be worn underneath clothes if, um, you don't want the ghosts to know it's on you. In your case, it won't mess with your uh, style."

Star rolls her eyes. _While I appreciate you trying to accomodate my fashion sense, I'd gladly wear that in public than be attacked again._

Danny waves his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "I didn't mean anything by it! Plus, you obviously wearing Fenton tech is sure to raise some red flags for someone somewhere, and I don't think anyone needs that."

 _That's… fair too._

He moves on to the next item, a softball-sized metal cube with the similar designs on it.

"This is a personal ghost-shield, one that has the ability to switch between settings. Pretty similar to the ones I'm sure you're familiar with"He presses a button on the machine, and it hums to life. "The one we'll be giving you is super-powerful and invisible, so nobody will know you're even using one. It's kinda heavy, but you can put it in your backpack or purse and forget about it."He deactivates the shield and puts it back, pointing to the next item.

"Fenton phones, basically mini-walkie-talkies. You probably won't have much use for these, but we figured that we'd rather be safe than sorry. They also cancel out spectral noise, so if I ever start to use my ghostly wail you'll want to put these on to, uh… save your eardrums."

 _Yeah, I've heard that before, definitely not a pleasant experience. It is powerful though, isn't it?_

"Yeah I've uh… destroyed a few buildings with it." He cringes. "In my defense, it's hard to make a sound targeted... I'm still working on that."

He motions to the last pile of items, many of which much more familiar to Star. "And lastly; a Fenton thermos, which you know what that does, along with a few different types of blasters. A lipstick-blaster and a wrist-ray, as well as a standard ecto-gun, all beefed up to work on half-ghosts pretty well. Basically, our idea is that if it can stop me, who regularly flies under ghost-radar, it _should_ stop whoever's overshadowing Autumn." He sighs. "Not that I _want_ you to be using any of these. This should be good though, thanks Jazz."

 _That's… a lot of stuff. Aren't your parents going to be missing these things?_

Danny laughs _._ "No, we've made it a regular trend of ours to take ghost tech, at this point they've just like… accepted it as something ghosts do, steal things. They _are_ confused about how they get past the ghost shields, though."

 _I see…_ Star looks over all of the tech with mixed feelings, and then sighs. The rest of team Phantom discusses other plans.

 _Hey Danny, can I check my phone? I should probably check my messages._

 _Sure._ Danny reaches for Star's phone and thinks for a second, opening it up in his lap and staring blankly down. _Actually Star, do you want to just take over? You should be good by now. The foreign ectoplasm that was causing problems is gone, and uh… I think the pain is manageable._ He prods at her stomach a bit. _The skin is still new and tender though._

Star ponders for a moment, she isn't looking _forward_ to being in pain, but she figures that she shouldn't take up any more of Danny's resources if she can help it. This way she can manage her needy friends, too.

 _Sure, go for it._

"Hey, guys, I think Star's ready to um, come back."

Tucker nods. "Sure dude, do you want us to do anything?"

Danny shakes his head. "No, just letting you know... I think everything should be fine."

 _Alright, brace yourself._

Danny slowly starts to recede from her mind. Star feels the strange feeling of being pushed _into_ her body, and the pain gradually comes in waves, throbbing with each heartbeat. She curls in on herself for a moment, clutching her stomach and squeezing her eyes shut. The rest of Team Phantom moves closer to her, not sure what they _should_ do, but feeling like they should be doing… something.

"Star? You good?" She feels a cool hand touch her back. It's soothing, distracting her from some of her pain.

"Yeah, yeah… it's-" she gives a look to Sam and Jazz, "I've had cramps that are worse."

Both of them chuckle and nod knowingly. "Want some ibuprofen? Water?" Sam reaches behind her, already prepared, apparently.

"Do you want-" Star interrupts her by swiping the water and pills out of Sam's hands and basically inhales them, draining almost the entire bottle of water in one go.

"-nevermind."

She sighs and coughs out a quick "thanks" before running her hand through her hair and leaning back against the bed, holding her phone at eye-level. Danny takes a seat next to her.

"I just need to distract myself for a bit, I-" She stops and stares at her phone. " _what the hell?!_ " Her eyes widen, and everyone else leans in to catch a look.

Danny's the first to read her phone screen. " _42_ new messages?" He raises an eyebrow at her.

" _Uuuuuugh._ Seriously? I can't have one weekend to myself?" She scrolls through the notifications, the majority of them are actually through their group chat, but only by a small margin. Paulina's next in line, which actually makes sense-

"Ah shoot, it's Saturday, isn't it?" she asks, receiving a few nods from everyone else. She taps on her phone to send a quick message through their group chat.

Sam cracks open a can of soda. "Did you have plans?"

"Yeah." She sends off the text. "Paulina and the rest of the girls usually go out for lunch every Saturday before cheer practice, we meet at the mall and then head over to the school at around 4." She glances at the clock. "And it's almost 4:30 now. Ugh, I didn't even know it was this late, I should have told them I was sick a while ago."

"Well, you _did_ have other things on your mind… literally." Tucker throws Danny a lopsided grin at his own joke, but only receives an unamused stare in response.

"Just tell them you're sick now then." Jazz says. "Otherwise we can drive you back, but before that we need to-"

Star's phone rings, and she scowls down at it.

"It's Kwan." She groans, hesitating. Everyone else looks at her expectantly. She sighs and rubs her face before answering.

"Hey Kwan, sorry, tell Paulina I've been sick all day."

There's a pause and some muffled speech from the other end, before it suddenly cuts out and raises in pitch. The corners of Danny's mouth twitch by likely being able to hear the entire conversation.

"N-no, I- what? Oh, yeah that was probably when I ran out to get NyQuil then." Another pause. "There were some... long lines."

She pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration and listens to the shrill voice for a while longer. "Yeah, sorry Pauly, I didn't think that I would sleep through the entire day. I'll-" more yelling. "Yeah, I'll do that. Okay. Okay, thanks. Yeah. Love you too. Bye."

She hangs up the phone and groans. Long and drown out, it echoes through the room.

"Paulina's _super_ suspicious. She's coming to my house to check on me after practice."

"So she went to your _room?_ " Danny asks, somewhat amused with the situation.

"Well she has a key _and_ a car, so there isn't much stopping-" realization dawns on her, and she quickly sits up.

"The _bathroom_! Danny, what if she saw-"

Danny shakes his head and points at Jazz, who gestures for Star to relax.

"Don't worry, I handled it. Our parents have a myriad of inventions _just_ for cleaning, so it was basically a push of a button and it was done. The rug and a few towels had to be pitched, though."

"Oh my god thank goodness." She breathes. "I literally owe you guys so much. Thank you, thank you, _thank you._ "

"Don't worry about it." Danny says. "If anything it's more _my-_ " glares are tossed Danny's way. "... _our_ fault in the first place for not being careful enough." He looks at Star. "We dragged you into this, it's our job to protect you from whatever that might mean."

Star looks down at her phone that continues to ping off notification after notification. She silences it.

"You really don't have to blame yourselves, I went unnecessarily far to try to get myself involved. Plus, I don't regret it." She straightens. "If you ever need my help at all, I'd be glad to. I'm sure on Monday Autumn or her ghost or whatever is going to be confused about my… livelihood, so that's going to draw some attention."

"Which _actually_ might be in our favor. What do you think that this ghost wants, anyways? It can't be anyone we know, it's not their MO." Tucker pulls out his old PDA and starts searching through files. "Unless it's someone new, but what could cause them to target Star?"

Danny shakes his head. "It's not her they're targeting Tuck, it's me. She got too close to me, which made that ghost angry... for some reason. I saw it in her memories." He fiddles with the lipstick blaster while he thinks. "Maybe you guys should gear up too. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Danny, we're not Star, we can't be carrying around mini-ghost shields everywhere, we're constantly near you. Same with the Spectre Deflector- you'd be getting zapped constantly." Sam takes the lipstick blaster out of Danny's hand. "And it's not like we can't handle ourselves. Who's been taking care of all of the ghosts while you've been out of commission these past few days?"

"I know you're right, and I'm not trying to say you're, um, weak or anything- just... Look at this guy, he almost _killed_ someone!" He gestures towards Star. "And this is targeted, not like the rest of the ghosts. I'm worried."

"You're always worried, little brother." Jazz stands up. "Here, why don't we at least all get personal ghost shields for at home, when we're most vulnerable. Our parents have a literal closet _full_ of them anyways."

Tucker nods. "I can upgrade them by tomorrow, too. I'd just need you to pump some energy into them, Danny."

"Sure" He agrees, then stands. "Well, cheer practice ends at like 5:30, right? You should probably get home before Paulina invites herself in again."  
Star blinks. "Why do you know when cheer ends?"

Sam rolls her eyes. "Please, we need to know when _every_ club meets. We need to. The school is one of the most common targets, so we're constantly there. Gotta know what rooms will be empty."

"Huh, that makes sense." Star braces herself on the bed to help her stand up. Danny hovers by her protectively, obviously holding himself back from helping her.

"Jeez dude, let her breathe for a minute." Tucker teases. "You're on her almost obsessively."

Danny clenches his jaw and flashes a glance at Tucker. "Real funny, Tuck." He sighs. "Maybe I really am getting more ghostly." He mutters.

Star glances between the two of them as she stands to her full height. "I feel like there's something here that I'm not getting."

Danny fidgets a bit under her gaze. "Let's… talk about this later. I have some files with, um... Ghost 101 stuff in it that'll answer a lot of questions you might have." He rubs the back of his neck. "And- I… um."

Jazz steps in. "Almost anything ghostly _also_ pertains to Danny as well." She shoulders Star's backpack. "He is half-ghost, after all."

Star looks at Danny, who smiles sadly at her.

 _There's a lot more to him than I know, isn't there?_

"Sure, if you guys- _Danny-_ is okay with that."

He nods. "The more people that know the basics of ghosts the better. Tuck, if you want to send that stuff over before you get those shields that'd be great." Tucker throws Danny a thumbs up while leaning back in his bean-bag chair.

Danny takes Star's backpack from Jazz, who looks confused at the action.

"Are _you_ taking her back?" she asks.

"Yeah," He shoulders it. "I want you to get Tuck those shields so that we can get everyone protected for tonight." He picks up the other bag containing the Fenton tech.

"Uh, no offense Danny, but I'm not a miracle worker, getting those done tonight is going to be-" Danny leans down to Tucker and whispers in his ear, who's eyes light up. "Done and done, I'll have them finished by 9." He stands, pointing a finger in the air. "Jazz, take me home, I have a date to earn!" Tucker spins around and walks out of Sam's room, a confused Jazz following close behind.

"Wait Tucker, _what did he say?!"_

Star watches the door slam and looks to Danny, equally confused expression crossing her face. "What _did_ you say?"

Danny hands the other bag to Star and smiles. "Doesn't matter, my parents are in the lab til 8, they aren't getting those shields any time soon." Danny summons his transformation and holds his hand out to Star. "Now hurry, before Jazz tells him!"

Star takes hold of Danny's hand and knits her brows together. "Wait, does this mean that we're-"

Danny turns Star intangible and blasts out the window, turning the end of her sentence into a shrill cry in the night.

Sam opens her window and yells out. "Hey, Danny!"

Danny halts in midair, leaving Star to comprehend that _they really are flying holy-_

"Don't drop another passenger, okay?" A wicked grin grows on her face.

Danny gives her a thumbs up as Star realizes what's just been said. "I- another?"

And Danny pulls her along into the distance before she can get another word in.

Sam watches the ghost in the sky fly off into the distance fondly, leaning on her window sill and enjoying the cool fall breeze.

Although no matter how much she tries to shake it, Sam can't help but feel the acid taste of jealousy rising in her throat at that very same image.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Ugh, I feel like I just rode every ride at the amusement park back-to-back." Star staggers to her bed and flops onto it, burrowing her head beneath the pillows. Meanwhile, Danny morphs back to his human form and works on setting up the miniature ghost shield.

"Here, if you put it under your bed I can calibrate it to cover your whole room. I'll set a different setting for when you have it in your backpack, and- um… you good?"

Star tosses the pillows off of her head and looks at her phone for a second. She turns to Danny and looks him dead in the eye.

"Tucker told me to tell you that you're an ass."

Danny snickers. "As long as he sent you the files tell him that I'll get him once at the Nasty Burger or something." He tosses the small cube to Star, who catches it.

"He sent me, uh, three folders; 'Ghost info', 'Goodies', and 'Baddies'." She fiddles with the little machine. "So this is the on button, and the dial is the setting?"

Danny nods. "Yeah, go ahead and turn it on. Setting 2 is the personal one, we're going to test it out."

Star presses the button in, feeling the cube vibrate a bit in her hands. A small green light slowly pulses on and off on the top of the shield.

"Okay, now what?" She asks. She looks at Danny and shows him the light.

"Now, it should be a shield that's about 3 feet in radius." He walks up to her with his hand out, clearly meeting some resistance before he can get within arm's length. A faint green hexagonal mesh appears beneath his hand where he presses it. "At this strength even my parents might feel something while they walk through it, so I doubt that Autumn would be able to pass through while she's being overshadowed." He clenches his hand into a fist and reels back back. Danny's eyes glint green for a split second and Star flinches as he punches the shield at full-force. It flashes briefly, but Danny hisses as his hand ricochets off of the forcefield and briefly sizzles, as if he's getting burned.

He shakes out his hand. "Yeah, uh- ow. Nothing's getting through that without some effort… _ow,_ whatthe _heck_ Tucker _._ " It heals almost as fast as it was injured.

Star turns the shield off and picks up the largest of the blasters. "You're not going to ask me to shoot you now, are you?" She points it at him, and he promptly nudges the barrel down with his finger.

He laughs. "Uh, no. I'm pretty confident those work. This, however-" He pulls out the small belt from earlier. "I'd like- wait not the right word- _need_ to test. Don't want to, though." He hands it to Star, and she stands up to clip it around her waist.

"So then I'm assuming I do this-" She presses the button on the belt before Danny notices, and he yelps as an arc of electricity leaps over to him. He jumps away and rubs the arm that got shocked.

"Agh, yes. Press it twice to turn it off. Jeez." He flattens down his hair and crosses his arms. "I've had enough experiences with these for a lifetime, and _apparently_ they don't need to touch you to get shocked anymore." He settles a farther distance away. "basically if a ghost tries to touch you- or you touch it- it sends out a nasty electric pulse. Although, nothing should be touching you if you have the shield too."

Star turns off the belt and takes it off, setting it on the bed. "And these are powered with… ectoplasm?"

"Yeah, they've got little ecto-converters inside each one, which Tucker beefed up. As long as they're just on standby they can last for around a week of nonstop activity, but if they're being stressed for some reason just head over to me and I can charge them back up-" He stops and flattens his hair again. "um… they shouldn't be being stressed, though."

Star runs her fingers across the items lined on her bed. "So do you want me to find you during class or stop by your place once a week?"

Danny shakes his head. "Nah, I'll just head here during patrol, probably just Saturday nights unless something works better for you."

"A weeknight would be better, I'll check my calendar and text you tomorrow some time."

"Sure, sure. And um, hey. I wanted to give you, uh… one last thing." Danny zips up his backpack and swings it over his shoulder, holding out a small packet to Star.

She takes it from him and reads the title. "Halfas?" She thumbs through the packet, which is just page after page of text. _There's even a table of contents._

"Yeah. Tucker and Sam are- they're… it's hard to get them to trust people, so I couldn't convince them to send you a digital copy, but- um… I got Jazz to print out a hard copy." He fidgets again, and very noticeably avoids her gaze. "Don't tell them I gave you this. I trust you, and I know that you had a lot of questions about what happened to me and... everything. This should answer those, but you might want to read the Ghost 101 files first. You might be a little confused otherwise."

Star looks at him for a few seconds, and hands the packet back out to him. "Danny, if it makes you uncomfortable I don't need to know anything like this-"

"If you're going to start helping us, you _do_ need to." He interrupts.

Star silences.

"Like I said, it's hard not to read you like a book when I'm _literally_ inside of your head. I know… that you _want_ to help. There's reasons why I trust you, and there's a _lot_ of reasons why I agree you should help us." They make eye contact. "I can always have more close allies, but I'm only okay with it if you know the risks."

Star slowly draws the packet back to her and takes a seat on the bed. She places it in her lap, contemplating.

"And if that doesn't drive the point home, this combined with what I'm about to tell you might." He steps closer to her and taps the packet. His voice deepens. "Once you finish reading this, burn it. Do _not_ make copies, do _not_ put it on any software, nothing. If there's something you feel like you need to know, memorize it. You'll… understand why when you read it."

Star nods without a second thought, coming up with a long list of reasons to justify the validity of that request. Despite being with Danny for the past 24 hours, his voice holds an intimidating quality that creates a spark of fear in Star. "Yeah" she says. "I don't know how much help I can be, but... let me know if you need anything." She grips the packet tighter. "I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."

He steps back and smiles. "I know you won't, you wouldn't have that packet if I even thought it was a possibility." Danny transforms in a flash of light and lifts off of the ground, hovering. "Oh, and make sure Paulina doesn't see any of that ghost tech. If she does and she asks, _no,_ you don't know me, _no,_ she can't get an interview, and, _no_ , you did _not_ get it from Fenton. _You're_ talking your way out of that one." He waves in an extremely childish manner and flashes her a toothy grin.

(She definitely didn't see his sharpened canines.)

"Bye bye~!"

Danny vanishes, leaving nothing but a chill in the air to represent his past presence. Star balks at the empty room.

 _The way that kid can go from insanely intimidating to immature dork is a power itself. Gives me chills._

Seconds later Star jumps at the sound of her doorbell and quickly scrambles to shove all of the ghost gear Danny gave her under her bed.

" _Star, oh Star!"_ Paulina barges into her bedroom holding a bag of fast food and a tray of drinks. "I convinced coach to end practice early so I can check up on you!" She sets the meals down on Star's desk and removes a light pink drink from its seat, handing it to her. "I also stopped at that vegetarian place we like over past the mall, I got smoothies!"

Star takes a breath and smiles. "Thanks Pauly, I could use something fresh about now." She gratefully receives the drink and takes a long sip out of it, relishing in the cool sweetness after a day full of greasy pizza and soda.

"Gosh, you must've been so bored sitting _alone_ in your house all day." Paulina's eyes flit over to Star, who just laughs nervously at the comment.

"Yeah, I've mostly been sleeping. I ran out briefly, but other than that I've just been... in. Sucks to be cooped up all day." _Technically_ not too far from the truth, but _shoot_ is Paulina suspicious.

"Hm, okay." She pulls a salad of some sort out of the bag. "Just make sure to tell me if you start dating someone, okay?"

Despite the smoothie, Star's mouth suddenly feels like a desert.

" _What?"_

 **A/N: Happy New Years everybody! I hope 2019 treats you well!**

 **I'm hoping to get the cover art for this out by tomorrow, so keep an eye out. (It's nothing special really, but people get excited about these types of things. ❛ᴗ❛)**

 **Also, I've written a heafty amount of the Halfa information that Danny gave Star, which explains a lot of how Halfas and ghosts in general work in my universe. The one problem is, I have** _ **no**_ **idea how to include it in the story. If anyone has any ideas that'd be wonderful!**


	17. 13: Whale

**A/N: Happy New Years everybody! I hope your 2019 is awesome!**

Danny walked through the front door of his house at around 8:30 pm, right after going through his evening patrols and stopping over to Tucker's to drop off some fast food. His head held high and a smile on his face he headed inside and dropped his unnecessary coat off in the front closet. It was a lighter night, to Danny's relief. Only a few small beastial ghosts and the box ghost happened to show their heads, which left Danny in good spirits.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

"Hi, honey! In the kitchen!"

Danny follows his mother's voice to find her sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop, leftover lasagna sitting next to her. He can faintly hear tinkering coming from the basement door. "Hey mom, have a good day?" He moves behind her and gives her a half-hug, his other hand occupied with the leftover Nasty Burger he planned to have for dinner.

Maddie nods and swallows her bite. "Yes, thanks for asking! We've been doing very well with our research lately, despite the lack of ghosts out and about. Did you have fun with your friends?"

"Yeah, lots of gaming again." He takes a peek at his mom's laptop. "What's this?" He points at the screen and notices his school calendar up.

"Well, your father and I are planning a little trip." She looks up at him. "You and your sister have been doing so well in your studies and we haven't done a big family outing in around a year, so we figured it would be fun!"

Danny bites at the inside of his lip and leans an arm on the back of her chair. "When… um, when were you thinking this would be?" He looks at the school calendar, the closest day off they have is Halloween- shoot, that's _this_ month?- and he knew they couldn't be going then.

"Probably the 10th to the 14th, we'd leave Wednesday night and return Sunday night." She points out the dates on the calendar and swaps to another tab. "We're going to this resort on the coast of Lake Michigan, it has a water park and camping plots, we thought we would leave it up to you and Jazz on which you'd like to do."

"So, water park or camping?" While Danny was leaning towards camping, he didn't look forward to all the work associated with it, after the week he's had, he'd much rather-

Wait wait wait, hold on- pause. He can't _leave_ , not with that ghost targeting Star. He looks at the calendar again. It's the 6th, so he'd only have half a week to figure out this ghost trouble before he vanishes for 5 days.

Definitely not enough time.

"Um, do you think we could maybe just… chill at home instead? Have a few family nights watching movies and stuff? That's… a lot of school to miss, and I'm sure Jazz would-"

"Nope! I knew you and Jazz would probably try to get out of it so I already booked everything except for the attraction tickets, which we'd get at the door. I'm sure you'd be alright if you missed a few days too." She turns around in her chair to face him. "And I know if we schedule 'family nights' you two would disappear to hang out with your friends before we could even make popcorn."

Danny frowns, still trying to think of the perfect excuse to get out of this. He had a town to protect, damn it, and-

Maddie's face turns sullen and she stands up to kiss Danny's forehead, gently ruffling his hair.

"I won't force you to go, but It really would mean a lot to your father and I, Danny. We know we haven't been spending a lot of time with you lately, and we _also_ know that you're at that age where it seems like you're always busy, but it's important to make time for your family every once in a while." She smiles. "And who knows? You might have some fun, too!"

Danny can almost feel- well, maybe he can _actually_ feel the anxiety and sadness coming off of his mom, and the gentle, pleading smile… he could tell that she was really excited about this. It really has been a long time since they've all gone out and done something together, even this summer he was too busy with ghosts and training to do anything besides basic lab work for his parents, and _that_ was only because he wanted some decent cash for more fast food and first aid equipment.

Overall he was without a doubt the cause for his family becoming distant- and the fact that they believed it was them? That just rubbed him the wrong way.

Damn it, he had a _family_ to protect, too.

"Um, the- I'd rather do the water park, I think. It'll be cold out, and we can always visit the beach anyways, right? At night?"

Maddie's eyes light up and she immediately crushes Danny in a hug. "Oh, of course sweetie- to see the stars! The resort is a ways out from any cities so we might even be able to see the milky way! Maybe I can nag your father to pack the big telescope…" she trails off, and then smiles. "I'll go tell your sister, did you already have dinner?"

Danny holds up his fast food bag and drink. "Yep, was just going to get on the computer to do some homework. I'll let Sam and Tuck know about the trip." Danny turns the corner to head upstairs, but doubles back and leans around the wall to readdress his mother.

"Oh, and if Jazz gives you trouble, tell her that I already agreed, that should help convince her. Goodnight!" Danny resumes his path upstairs, leaving his mother somewhat confused at the statement. She shrugs.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Danny, this is probably literally the _worst_ time for you to go on a camping trip."

Danny readjusts his headphones and turns down the volume on his computer. "Technically, we're going to a water park. _I_ got to decide." He states, a hint of pride in his voice.

" **Either way,** we're going to have to figure out what to do. What if the ghost that's targeting you or Star decides to take advantage of the fact that you're either A. All alone with your family or B. Not here with us?"

"See, see, but neither of those will be a problem!" He says, gesturing with his arms." For Amity, Vlad owes me a favor- and I doubt he'll let his city be destroyed by some unnamed ghost anyways. For me, I'll have Jazz _and_ my parents with me. While they might not be fond of Phantom, they'd rip another ghost _molecule by molecule_ before they got within 20 feet of me. I don't have enough pride to not let them have their own kind of fun this weekend with an enemy ghost." He cringes at the double, triple entendre, but shrugs. "If they want to fight my battles with big guns then they can be my guest."

Sam sighs and rolls her eyes, while Tucker asks an additional question. "And… what about your obsession?"

Danny stills and flicks his eyes over to his friend, the smile sliding off of his face.

" _Tucker!"_ Sam hisses.

"What? Someone needs to ask the hard questions. You will to an extent, but nothing about Danny's ghost half."

"It'll be fine," Danny says. "I'll be antsy, but if I just spend some nights outside it should keep me going. I'm not _too_ concerned about it." His wall suddenly becomes very interesting, and he stares at that instead of his computer screen.

Sam hums. "I'm still not sure if this is a good idea."

Danny shrugs. "It's not like I have a choice either way, I already agreed- well, agreed isn't the right word again, my mom kind of trapped me in a corner." He pauses. "Plus, I know you still hate Vlad."

"For pretty valid reasons dude," Tucker stresses. "He _kidnapped_ you. Multiple times!"

Danny scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Not like _that_ doesn't happen often."

"Oh, and don't forget," Sam counts on her fingers. " _he cloned you_. Then, _tortured_ you. Then, _tried to kill your dad._ " She bangs her fist on her desk. "Damn it, Danny people don't change at the drop of a hat like that!"

"Sam, _you-_ " Danny takes a breath and calms down, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm not rehashing this argument, I _thought_ we were past this. I know you guys don't get it, and that's _fine_." He leans his head on his hand. "Just- we can use him as a resource, okay?"

The chat goes silent, and Danny takes that as his cue to leave.

"I'm gonna... get some homework done. I'll see you guys Monday. I'll be doing patrols till then alone."

"Danny, don't-"

"Sam, relax. I was planning on this before…" He gestures at the empty air. "this. I'd like to spend as little energy as possible this week and taking you and Tuck along isn't worth the constant intangibility and invisibility. Keep the Fenton Phones on and we- I'll call you if there's any trouble." He doesn't give them a chance to object. "I'll probably just try to chill tomorrow, see ya."

He quickly exits their chat program without hearing their goodbyes and shuts off his computer on muscle memory...

only to groan when he realizes he needs it for his homework. He holds his head in his hands.

"It's going to be a _long_ weekend, isn't it?"

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Morning dude. How was patrol?"

Danny stuffs the Fenton thermos into his backpack. "Boring, a few ectopuses and Johnny, but he was just hanging out so I wasn't concerned." He slings it over his shoulder and walks up the stairs into the school, Sam and Tucker following. They head to each of their respective lockers.

"What are we going to do about Autumn?" Sam asks.

"I'm not too sure." Danny spins the lock to his locker again, squinting at it. "Little traitor lock, ugh- Just… keep an eye out and let me know if you see her. Star and I have her in History, but that's like 4th hour." He manages to open it after his third attempt.

"I _could_ get into the school directories to find her class schedule. I can probably get out of our gym class for like half an hour."

"Ugh, I just don't know what to do about this. I feel like we need to do _something_ as soon as possible but…" Danny slams his locker with a little more force than necessary, wincing at the noise. "I don't have the energy for a huge fight, won't for awhile, and something tells me we should try to lay low if we can." He leans his forehead on his locker, staring at the ground. "Look, I… this morning I stopped over at Vlad's, and-"

" _Fentonia!_ "

Danny sighs and stares at the ceiling, shaking his head softly. " _Whyyyy_ does the universe have to curse me so?"

Sam puts a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Don't worry Danny, we can talk about it later." Sam steps around him to stand in front of the approaching Dash. "What do you want, _Dashiel_?"

He halts in front of her and scowls. "Move it _witch_. I've got business with Fenton, not you."

"Business, huh? Make me, or can your _thick_ _skull_ not figure out how without slugging me?" She puts her hands on her hips.

"Sam, it's fine." Danny gently taps her shoulder and slides around her. "Surprised you're up this early Dash. Need something?" He looks up at Dash with a tired look in his eyes. While Danny _was_ growing taller, there was no way he was ever going to reach the height of the monster that was Dash Baxter, especially with his characteristic slouch- not that it mattered. Danny and the rest of Team Phantom knew that he could take him with both hands tied behind his back, but that doesn't mean he should blow such a huge part of his cover over getting some petty payback. It's not like his punches _actually_ hurt anything besides his almost nonexistent pride, either.

"Nothing, nothing, we just haven't _talked_ in a while, have we?" Dash throws his arm over Danny's shoulder, the menagerie of football players behind him snickering and whispering.

"Oh?" Danny scans the crowd, seeing a few of the nerds quietly slinking by. _Safely_ slinking by. His mouth twitches. "I hadn't noticed."

"Well, I have. And- you know, I've been feeling like we need to… reconnect more." Danny staggers as he's shoved into the group of waiting jocks who catch him and spin him around to face Dash- who reels back for an intense punch. Danny's jaw tightens and he squeezes his eyes shut, preparing for what's coming.

But he waits for a few seconds... and nothing does. The guys behind him still grip his shoulders just as tightly and he can hear a few hushed whispers, so Danny cracks open an eye to see what's going on.

Only to be winded as Dash punches him right in the diaphragm. Danny coughs a few times, gasping for air he doesn't need while the Jock Squad laughs and shoves him into the lockers. He remains hunched over and leans on the lockers, weakly glaring at Dash as he joins in on the laughter.

"Nice talking with you Fentertainment, it's _always_ a blast!" They turn the corner and stalk off as the warning bell rings, and the crowd that had slowly gathered throughout the confrontation does the same. Once they're out of sight, Danny straightens out and fixes his hair, rolling his eyes.

"Hey dude, you okay? That looked like it hurt." Tucker hands Danny his bag.

"Did it? Good." He shoulders it and sighs. "Honestly Dash's bad acting hurts more. If it was anyone else they'd probably be on the ground, he hit me pretty hard." He rubs his stomach. "We should just get to class, I don't want to get detention _today_ of all days."

"Sure, I'll see you guys in 3rd then?" Sam waves him off as he jogs down the hallway.

"Yep, see you in Gym, Tuck!" He waves back over his shoulder.

"Later!"

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny slides through the door to Falluca's class right as he's shutting it, earning a slightly disapproving look from the older teacher.

"Glad you could join us, Daniel. Take a seat." He shuts the door behind him.

Danny mumbles a quick "Sorry, thanks." and hangs his head as he quickly makes his way to his desk, pulling out his _finished_ math worksheet for the day. He takes a moment to beam with pride.

 _Dang does it feel good to actually have work done_.

Mr. Falluca resumes heading around to check homework as Danny feels a quick buzz in his pocket. Glancing back to Falluca (who's begun to reprimand one of the jocks for another late assignment) he pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at the notification.

Sam Found her, forgot she's in my art class. Doesn't seem too suspicious? Just doing the project.

He quickly opens up the group chat and types out a short response, hiding his hands under his desk.

Danny keep eyes, don't confront

He sends the text and re-stows his phone just in time for Falluca to head over and scrawl a red check on his homework. Danny smiles.

"I see you're doing well Daniel, wonderful work."

"Thanks Mr. Falluca, turns out um, giving some effort really does help."

Danny's smile is returned to him by the older man who walks over to the next student and writes a check on their work as well. "However," He glances back at him. "do try to keep the phone away at least while I'm teaching, hm?"

He smiles and laughs nervously. "Um, yeah... sorry. Won't happen again."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

After Bio with Sam, Tucker, and Star, Danny runs to History as fast as possible, hoping to get there before Autumn does. Since Sam followed her to her second-hour class nobody's seen her, and so far their only plan is to just… wait and see what her next move is. Luckily, they were able to spare enough time to talk to Star for a few minutes in Bio to let her in on the plan, (if they could even call it that) so now, it's time to wait and watch.

Danny slips into the History room just as the last student leaves, getting into his seat and pulling out his phone almost immediately. He sends a quick message through their group chat and then scrolls through his social media sites randomly. He reads absolutely none of it, instead listening intently and flicking his eyes up every time a new student walks in the room. His knee bounces incessantly, slightly annoying Mr. Lancer at the front of the room.

"Mr. Fenton, while I'm impressed by your punctuality, I would appreciate it if you got your excess energy out between classes while you have the chance to move about."

Danny looks to Mr. Lancer and stops his fidgeting, setting his phone down on his desk. "Right, sorry. Must've had… too much coffee this morning I guess." He knows that he probably looks like even more of a nervous mess than he usually does, but the fact that he has _no_ idea or control over how this ghost thing is going down concerns the heck out of him. It's also incredibly irritating to have to tiptoe around your own haunt, his brain _oh so kindly_ supplies.

Danny notices more movement out of the corner of his eye. Another student, Star walks into the room. He watches her nervous eyes sweep the almost empty room before falling on him, smiling as she walks to her desk.

She directs a tiny wave towards him and Danny nods, relaxing a little knowing that she made it to class alright. She gives him a wide berth as she crosses the room, and he can feel the unmistakable buzz of the Spectre Deflector behind him as she takes a seat. He resumes his watch on the door, waiting. The hum of electricity, while somewhat unsettling, helps him focus his thoughts.

The rest of the room gradually fills up throughout the rest of the five minutes, and Danny begins to doubt whether Autumn's even going to show up. Mixed feelings shoved aside, he starts to build a new plan for catching her before the warning bell calls and he notices a black dress and long brown hair glide silently into the room.

While most people would believe the action or the person themselves to simply be graceful and reserved, Danny notices the ghostly aura she holds that only another of her kind could see. Anger knits his brows together on impulse, doing his best to hold back the green flash of his eyes threatening to spill over. He can hear Star shift in her seat behind him, likely being able to feel the protective, obsession-driven aura coming off of him in waves.

 _Shit, dial it back Fenton._

Autumn's eyes lock onto the source of the hostile aura immediately before shifting to Star and widening. Danny's previous thought of restraint flies out the window, his eyes boring right through her in an expression that could only be called intimidating, a very foreign look on Fenton. Autumn's lips press together in a thin line and she halts her progress to her seat, spinning on her heel to instead head towards the front of the room, boldly turning her back to Danny.

"Mr. Lancer, I'm not feeling too well, do you think I could head to the nurse's office?"

Lancer looks up from the papers he's grading to address Autumn. "Of course Miss Viipuri, you do look rather pale. Be sure to get a pass before you return."

Danny stands, that dark expression still dominating his features. Autumn hastily exits the room, passing by a number of confused students, but not without the ghost boy hot on her heels. He falls behind some while navigating around desks and people, but as soon as they're out of earshot of Lancer's room, they break into a run.

 _I'm not letting you get away that easy._

The game of cat and mouse continues down the almost empty hallways, both of them maintaining a realistic speed while there are still witnesses in the halls. Autumn glances behind her as she flees, red eyes narrowing at her pursuer. She turns corner after corner, searching for something, anything to help escape. Fortunately for Danny, she comes up empty.

 _Enough of this._ He thinks.

He glances around once they head down a dead hallway and after making sure they're alone, carefully reduces his weight to almost fly through the maze that is Casper High. He effortlessly catches up to her with the benefit of his ghost powers, and at this point they've easily made a lap on the first floor. He edges closer, within arms reach.

Autumn glances behind her as she turns another corner and frightens when she realizes how close Danny is to her. She missteps in her surprise, sliding sideways and into a row of lockers with a loud _bang_. She recovers quickly, but it's not enough to avoid capture. Danny grabs her first by the shoulder and then by the hair, making sure he has a firm grip- earning a sharp cry from his target.

He glances around, hoping that there still weren't any tardy stragglers in the halls to witness his assault. Upon seeing none, he spreads his intangibility between them and drags her down into Casper High's basement, pushing her down to sit on the cold concrete floor and readjusting his hold onto her wrist, even more vicelike than before. His other hand glows a menacing toxic green, mirroring his eyes that look down at her with a cold, deadly stare.

"Alright, you're going to tell me _everything_ now, ghost. Why you've overshadowed Autumn's body, what you want with me, and why you attacked Star, got it?"

The girl below him hisses, but it twists into a snicker, then a sharp laugh. "Bold, speaking to one of your _own kind_ in such a venomous fashion. I'd hold your tongue more often if I were you, fledgling."

Danny grips the wrist he's holding harder, feeling the muscles tense up more beneath his fingers. He holds himself back, remembering that the body and its owner are still the victims here.

" _Own kind?_ " Danny scowls down at the ghost. "I may be part ghost but I'm nothing like you, possessing and attacking innocent people- you're a breed of your own. Leave her and fight me head on, coward."

"Ah I forgot, you _are_ correct, our situations are fundamentally different of course." Red eyes meet green, and a cruel smile decorates her face. "At least _I'm_ possessing living flesh. You're holding onto nothing but a corpse, aren't you?"

Danny's resolve snaps, and his core flares- the mention of his state causing a chain reaction throughout his body. Instinct quickly taking over, his eyes glow white-hot, and he pumps more energy through his palm and into his fist, pointing his hand right at Autumn's head,

only hesitating when he sees an expression of pure fear cross her features, tears frantically spilling down her face from her dark brown eyes.

"P-please- Phantom, _help_." She whimpers, and the bubbling green energy he holds melts away, dripping to the ground and sizzling out as if it's battery has lost all charge. The drippings leave faint green burns in the concrete, and the smell of acid and coal wafts around them like a noose.

Danny takes in the current scene; the thrumming of energy, the deadly toxic scare, the crushing grip he has on her arm, and, worst of all, the deep dark desire to _destroy_ the ghost that threatened his obsession, regardless of the innocent body he possessed. He clenches his jaw, a memory of who he promised _not_ to be dancing at the back of his mind. Tears begin to prick at the corners of his eyes as well, clouding his vision and causing him to resume breathing- when did he stop?

"Ooh, a weakness I see." The ghost combines a touch of intangibility with a hard yank, successfully pulling their arm out of Danny's grasp and immediately morphing into a dark black smoke. "That's two then, what a _treat_."

Danny curses the ghost, swiping at the smoke in a feeble attempt to recapture his quarry, succeeding only in collapsing to the floor and pounding a fist onto the solid concrete. It cracks and he scoffs at it, his strength ultimately means nothing to an enemy he can't touch. He can faintly hear the ghost's condescending laughter recede from the halls of the school in a direction he can't place, laughter at _his_ mistake.

He seethes, tears dripping onto the floor and reflecting the green light of his eyes back at him. He takes a moment to stare at his empty hands and curses again- this time, at himself.

He sits up and clenches his fists. "It's just like… _fucking_ Spectra." His voice cracks, his body relaxes, and he stares up at the ceiling while the faint green glow that's been lighting the room slowly dims to darkness.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny returns to Lancer's class around 7 minutes into the lecture with his hands in his pockets and a scowl decorating his face. His teacher looks at him and knits his brows together.

"Mr. Fenton, how nice of you to return. Care to explain your disappearance?"

Danny takes a seat and clenches his jaw. He rubs his eyes. "Sorry, not feeling well either." He mumbles. He pulls his backpack into his lap and begins to remove his materials for the class.

Star notices his solemn expression and how he didn't look at her as he walked in, and becomes somewhat concerned. What happened with Autumn? She scans the bits of his body she could see. No bruises, no scuffs- he doesn't _look_ injured… he doesn't even look like he got into a fight.

Did she get away?

Fear worms it's way into Star's mind and her fingertips brush against the belt of the Spectre Deflector beneath her clothes. She glances at her purse that sits on the ground beside her, feeling a sense of security from the items contained within.

 _I've gotta figure out what's going on during lunch._ She takes a breath and attempts to focus on the lecture.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Sam, Tucker, and Danny sit in their usual spot outside. While the two humans regularly struggle against the bite of the cold, it's one of the only spots that they can take without the risk of prying eyes and ears, so they endure.

"Dang man, that sucks. I wonder what she's gonna plan next?"

Danny stays silent and lets the other two talk it out, still frustrated about the whole situation. It's not like he could tell them anymore, anyways. He stares down at his uneaten lunch with a frown.

Sam presses her lips together as she looks at Danny. "There wasn't anything you could do about it. Beating yourself up isn't going to help. If they're _really_ like Spectra, it's exactly what they want, too."

He sighs. "I could have done a _lot_ of things. I could've called you guys, I could've remembered the thermos, I could have _not_ overreacted about their stupid comments." He holds his head in his hands. "I've been doing this too long to be making dumb mistakes like that, and the fact that I lost it over my obsession and a stupid comment?" he scowls. "I hate it."

Sam and Tucker exchange a glance and then look down at their own meals, sullen expressions crossing their features. While they wanted to help their friend, there wasn't much they could do about this situation. It's not like they could identify with anything Danny was going through, and it's not like anything the ghost said was something they could contradict either.

So the best thing that they could do for Danny is simply be there for him and help plan out their next steps once he's ready to move. This isn't something that he'd just want to-

"Hey Danny, you-"

"Star, don't-!"

A loud yelp sounds across the back lawn of Casper High. Thankfully, due to the cold, not many people are outside to hear it. The group stares at a certain ghost boy now on the ground next to their table, still recovering from the intense shock he'd just received. He groans.

The perpetrator clutches her hands to her chest and kneels down next to him. "Danny, oh my god I'm so sorry, I-"

"Don't!" He scoots away from her, gripping his shoulder and rubbing his hair down with tears in his eyes. "I'm glad it's working, but that's _literally_ the worst! Ugh, Tuck why the _heck_ is it _that_ strong!?"

Tucker pulls his beanie over his eyes and shakes his head. "Dang, I had more faith in you Star."

Sam, however, pumps a fist in the air. "Ha, I knew it would happen by Wednesday! Pay up loser!" She holds a hand out towards her seatmate who reluctantly pulls out his wallet.

"You were _betting_ on this?!" Danny cries, looking sufficiently hurt by his two _former_ best friends.

"Sam started it," Tucker says, handing Sam a wad of cash. "You know me, I can't resist. As for the strength question-" he points at Star and raises an eyebrow. "I figured you'd be happier if it was stronger rather than weaker, and where's your shield?"

"I, um…" Star glances at Danny and then at Tucker again, feeling entirely guilty. "My purse is… inside, with Paulina and everyone else. I thought it'd be good if I came over for a second and... figured out what was going on." She looks to Danny. "You looked pretty upset in History, and Autumn never came back."

Danny crosses his legs, apparently content to sit on the ground. "The short answer is she got away. I can't imagine she's going to come back anytime soon though, if she does then I think we have to bite the bullet and let the 'official' ghost hunters know she's probably overshadowed."

Star glances over to the school, nervous about spending too much time away from the A-List. "Didn't we talk about how we wanted to keep this under wraps? How would we even _know_ she was overshadowed if it weren't for her attacking me?"

"I've been thinking about that," Danny says. "and I could _probably_ convince my parents that it's just my suspicion based on what ghost knowledge they've taught me, but…"

Danny trails off, and Sam takes over. "That would be a pretty weak accusation,"

" _or_ bring you under suspicion." Tucker finishes. "Or both. Overall, not amazing choices."

Danny sighs. "Not that we've got much else to choose from." He stares at the blue-grey sky and bites his lip. "Um," He glances between Sam and Tucker and rubs the back of his neck. "If you all like, Vlad's coming over to my place after class to discuss this. You guys can join, to make up some sort of plan for while I'm gone. Um, you included, Star."

"M-me? And who's Vlad?" She thinks for a moment, recognition crossing her face. "Like, _Mayor_ Vlad… Masters?"

Danny nods. "Yeah, he's pretty involved in this stuff too. The one person you haven't met that knows everything about me." He pauses. "Well technically there's one other, but she doesn't come around much."

"So, the Mayor too." She takes a moment to think, realizing that it shouldn't be too surprising based on all of the ghost stuff he's been wanting to implement since he became mayor. "I can probably come over if you think it's a good idea, but I'll be a bit late, Pauly usually drives me home."

Danny nods again. "That's good, since Autumn might try to target you again we need to factor that into things, and you knowing what's going on is just a good idea."

Sam scoffs. "Yeah, and _Vlad_ will probably try to use you as bait or something."

" _No,_ he won't. I won't allow it." Danny draws his brows together at Sam but then looks back to the school. He sighs. "Well Star, you better get back. We'll talk more tonight, um… be prepared to learn _a lot_."

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

Honestly, if anyone ever told Star she'd be sitting across a table and conversing with _the_ multi-millionaire-probably-billionaire Vladimir Masters she'd probably laugh right in their face. Sure her parents may be well off, but honestly, that's just for Amity Park standards, in the grand scheme of things? Yeah, no.

Add that onto the fact that she's watching that same man argue childishly with a group of teenagers and she'd simply call it slander- but here she was, doing just that. In the kitchen of a half-ghost boy and his ghost-fighting friends, preparing to hatch a plan to capture a rogue ghost that's possessed one of their classmates.

She snickers to herself at the believability of the situation as she takes her seat at the table, it honestly sounded like the plot to an early 2000's kids show. Or maybe she's just trying to cope with what's happened these past few days with laughter. Oh well.

Vlad gestures towards Star. "And _that_ , Daniel, is exactly why we don't need _more_ of your little friends to find out about your little secret. She can't even keep her laughter to herself, how is she going to keep _life-threatening_ information?"

"Hey, _you've_ threatened Danny's life on more than one-"

" _Sam!_ I told you that you guys could be here if you didn't argue, this is getting ridiculous."

"She has a point, dude."

"This is _hardly_ the conversation we need to be having in this circumstance, we have much more pressing matters to attend to."

"Yes Vlad, I get it. Now can we _please_ get back on track here?"

"You mean onto the point where we remove your new addition? I'd be delighted."

" _No!_ "

"Star, would you like a cup of hot cocoa?"

Star's attention snaps from the ongoing argument to the calm voice beside her. Jazz smiles at her warmly, and Star nods.

"Yes please, thank you, um…" she gestures to the group opposite her. "Is this…?"

"Yes, they're always like that." She hands her a warm mug with stars and constellations on it, cute. "And don't worry, there's no way we're kicking you out. Vlad's just trying to protect his own interests by being stubborn- it's usually his first go-to." Jazz takes the seat next to her. "They should stop arguing in a few minutes, then we'll actually make some progress."

Star continues to observe the attitudes of the room's other occupants with decreased interest and decides to gain information from the one sane member of the group.

"I'm… assuming your parents aren't home then." She looks around the house with some intrigue, taking note the modest furnishings and amusingly standard family photos and decor.

Jazz sips from her own mug and the smell of coffee wafts through the air. "Mhm," she swallows. "Vlad sent them off on a ghost thing in Elmerton, that's probably all I can tell you without his permission. They won't be back until late tonight, possibly even tomorrow. Good news for us."

"Without his permission? Is he hiding something too?" Star leans back in her chair. "Seems everybody is nowadays."

Jazz nods. "That's actually what started this argument, Danny wants him to tell you but Vlad's been refusing. Ultimately I don't think it matters much, you'll figure it out sooner or later." She sets her mug on the table and crosses her arms. Star takes another sip of her own.

"What, is he half-ghost too? Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't even be surprised."

The ever ensuing argument across the table suddenly halts, and everyone gapes at her, _including_ Mayor Masters. Star glances around, tilting her head nervously.

"Um… did I get it?"

Danny points a finger at Vlad and laughs. " _Ha!_ Seems she figured it out on her own, huh _V-man_?"

Vlad glares at Danny, eyes momentarily flashing red. "Oh _butter biscuits,_ just because she guesses it doesn't mean you _tell her_ , you insolent brat!" He crosses his legs and throws up his arms, leaning back in his chair. "No wonder everyone and their mother knows you're a half-breed!"

Tucker cringes. "Hey man, don't say it like that, it makes it sound weird."

"I refuse to use your silly _'Halfa'_ terminology, it's childish and unscientific." He crosses his arms as well and turns away, shaking his head.

"Well, now that _that's_ out of the way," Danny leans forward on the table and rests his chin on his fist. "can we _please_ focus on the real issue?"

Vlad scowls but agrees. "So, it seems there's a new ghost on the loose now." He glances at Star. "A dangerous one at that. And _you_ managed to catch the attention of them somehow." He raises an eyebrow at her.

She fidgets a little in her seat. "It seems like… they didn't like me getting close to Danny- Like they didn't want me finding out he's half-ghost." She curls her mug closer to her mouth, pressing the warmth to her top lip. "They tried to kill me." She whispers.

"Yes, I heard the details from young Daniel already." He taps his fingers on the table. "It seems you're lucky to be alive young lady."

"My question is how long this ghost has been around." Danny says. "They can freely move about and not trigger my ghost sense, which is weird, and we don't know what their goal is or why they've overshadowed Autumn, either."

Tucker rests his forehead on the table and groans. "So, we don't know _anything_ is what you're saying."

"Well, first of all, it's already known that your ghost sense isn't the most reliable detector, so using that as your metric is silly." Vlad removes a small notepad from his inner breast pocket. "Second of all, we know that their goal has something to do with Daniel and Daniel specifically, and it likely pertains to his hybrid status." He flips through it, stopping at one page. "I've also done some research on the girl you've claimed they've overshadowed, and I believe I have a good estimation of the why, but not the how."

"Autumn Lei Viipuri, 17 years old, female." He reads. "Only child of the late Camilla and Robert Samsen."

"Late… so they're-" Sam frowns.

"Dead, yes." he interrupts.

"The last names are different though." Danny points out. "Did she take her mother's name?"

"Yes," Vlad replies. "Seems she changed it at 16. Apparently, she claimed that she was closer to her mother's heritage and that it had meant something to her. We don't have any information about how her father felt about this, but the likelihood is that he wasn't pleased."

Tucker shakes his head. "I can imagine, but is there any _actual_ evidence? Maybe he let her."

Vlad hesitates, knitting his brows together.

"Vlad, start from the beginning, we're gonna get everything mixed up otherwise." Danny looks at him. "We might still be in high school, but we're not kids. Just tell it straight."

Vlad glances at each one of them and then sighs. "It's not exactly _easy_ to say these things to anyone you know." He resumes his reading. "The Samsen household was rather volatile to begin with when they were both alive, a number of calls for domestic disturbances and the like, and the father even had to go to court for a domestic abuse charge, but in the end, nothing came of it but fines and warnings. Ultimately meaningless."

"Then," He continues, "when Miss Autumn reached 15, her mother committed suicide in her own home. The father was the one who called it in."

He pauses, letting the information sink in. Sam crosses her arms and mumbles.

"Bullshit, everything about this is fishy to me."

Star sets her mug down. "What happened to the dad?"

Vlad sighs again. "According to records, he also committed suicide less than a year ago, after she changed her name. Since then the girl's been put under the care of a Karen Dario, but she lives in another state and has been unreachable for months. The only contact she's ever had with the girl is her coming to court and procuring an apartment and government assistance for her. The whole situation is… messy to put it lightly. From what I know her apartment is in Elmerton, but I wasn't able to get the exact address due to it being out of my jurisdiction and her minor status."

Danny speaks up this time, frustration apparent in his voice. "It was so perfect for that ghost." He scowls. "They were just looking for an easy target to take advantage of." He glances at Star, realizing he should probably explain. "The more emotionally troubled, unstable, or distressed a person is, the easier it is to have full or partial control of both their mind and body. For ghosts with more powerful cores, I- this doesn't matter much."

"Young Daniel and I can overtake most humans without much trouble unless they have a strong will." Vlad shrugs. "Even then we'd just have to exert a small amount of power to maintain control. For weaker ghosts, however, this isn't the case. They grow tired after long periods of time and often get pushed out within hours. If the victim fights back it's even more difficult." He holds his chin for a moment and thinks. "It could also explain how they evaded his ghost sense as well. While I do make fun of Daniel's lack of reliability in the past, at this point you're able to detect an overshadowed victim rather easily, can you not?"

Danny nods. "Yeah, I was actually just thinking I was um… getting rusty." He rubs the back of his neck. "That makes more sense. This ghost is just weak."

"Not that it matters, she's probably ran by now," Tucker ventures. "She wasn't in my 8th-hour study."

"She'd be stupid to come back now that he's figured her out. She was probably relying on her 'camoflauge' up until now to get by." Sam says. "If it was an all-out fight, Danny would win hands-down."

"If that's the case then they wouldn't have gotten away now, would they?" Vlad counters. Sam snaps a glare his way and frowns. "This ghost clearly prefers manipulative tactics rather than combat, they likely wouldn't _allow_ a fight. And _you-_ " He squints at Danny. "Are in _no_ condition to fight anyone right now. I can barely feel your core! As you are now you'd likely struggle against _Skulker_ of all ghosts, and we've no idea about the abilities or allies of this one, you could get yourself killed a second time."

Danny opens his mouth as if he wants to retort, but closes it just as quickly. He makes it a point to stare holes through the table instead, accepting the statement.

"While it might _deeply_ wound you to admit it, all five of you know I'm correct. It's pure good fortune your parents are taking you traveling this weekend, you'll have some time to recuperate- I can even send you some… _provisions_ as well."

Danny's head snaps up to stare daggers at Vlad instead, who simply shrugs and stands.

"Just an offer, little badger." He brushes off his suit coat. "While you're gone I'll try to gather more information about this girl, perhaps we can find out how she got into contact with this malevolent ghost. In the meantime," He directs his attention to the humans in the room. "I'd like the four of you to keep an eye out for her as well and let me know if she ever shows. The ghost could possibly jump to another victim, but it's worth a shot to get some answers out of Miss Autumn anyways." He walks out of the kitchen and towards the front door, and Danny gets up and follows him out.

"So you just… what, expect us to sit and do nothing?"

"I _expect_ you to follow my advice, Daniel. I mean really, is it that hard to listen to me for _once_ in your life?" He pinches his brow in frustration. "I mean goodness, I can expect your little friends to go off and act on their own prerogative in spite of me, but I would hope by this time you've at least figured out that _our_ interests are aligned."

"Some. _Some_ of our interests are aligned, not all of them." Danny pauses and sighs, running a hand through his hair. "We'll… I'll try to lay low for now, but if I catch wind of someone- _anyone_ getting hurt then I'm flying out of here at Mach 5 and there isn't anything you can do to stop me."

"I wouldn't assume anything else," He smiles. "but be prepared for me to show up and save you from whatever inevitability you've gotten yourself tangled up in."

"Like I've done loads of times for you? You don't exactly repel trouble either, Plasmius."

"Ha!" Vlad opens the door and steps out into the cold, his limo pulling up within seconds. "Little badger, I've far passed that count by now. At this rate, you'll be signing up for a year-long internship at my office by the end of the semester." He waves and lets Danny catch the door as his chauffeur greets him. "I'm looking forward to it!" Is the last thing he hears before the limo drives away, Danny left shaking his head in the doorway.

 **A/N: A longer chapter to ring in the new year! This one was super hard to write and transition, I spent forever proofreading it. I am still in need of a Beta if anyone's interested!**

Oh, and a friend actually told me that the way I number chapters is misleading, so I'm debating on changing it to a proper standard numbering to make things more clear. The (Ch 2) thing is simply a continuation from the theme from the last chapter, everything is still very connected. If you skip those chapters, you might be a bit confused come the next one. Sorry about that! Let me know if you think a different numbering system would make more sense.


	18. 14: Small

**A/N: I'm sure you guys have noticed, but this format:**

Danny - bois so I'm actually thinking about vegetarianism whoda thunk

 **Is a text. Sorry I didn't explain that earlier! :I**

As Team Phantom expected, Autumn simply vanished. They did some searches around Amity during patrols, but before they knew it, Wednesday was upon them and Danny was set to leave that evening. It was appearing like they really were going to be taking Vlad's advice whether they wanted to or not.

Or, so they thought.

Tucker - hey guys, found some stuff out, meet after school my place

Danny - I have to leave at 6 but sure

Sam - What's it about?

Tucker - details details, dnt worry :)

Sam - …

TTTTTTTTTTTT

"You're just lucky I could get Jazz to pack for me." Danny, Tucker, and Sam land onto Tucker's back steps, the latter two rubbing their arms to dispel the irritating tingling that came with intangibility. Tucker doesn't even bother removing his coat after heading inside, running up the steps and into his room with some sort of purpose that he continues to keep his lips sealed about.

"Come on, we don't have a lot of time!"

Sam and Danny exchange a glance and shrug, jogging upstairs to catch up to Tucker.

"If it was that important, why didn't you tell us at school?" Danny asks, pushing open the door to his bedroom. Tucker is already seated at his computer, typing away at… something. They never could understand his ramblings about computer code.

"I couldn't just do this with my PDA or my phone, and bringing the laptop is annoying. It took me a few days too, I think the school got a new security director."

"The school?" Sam comes closer and shifts her gaze between the multiple monitors, unsure of which one to look at. He was opening folders and entering in passwords with one, glancing down at a myriad of sticky notes attached to another, and one had images opening up within a third. Danny just looked at the setup and wondered how much it cost.

"I was looking for schedules, but I dug a little deeper than I expected and… Here-" he opens up a PDF in the leftmost monitor, scrolling down a ways and highlighting a chunk of text.

Danny reads it aloud. "Viipuri, Autumn Lei. Enrollment records?" He scans the rest of the table, reading over the information they've already gained from Vlad. "We already knew all of this, it's not-" His eyes cross a line that he doubles back to reread. "3125 South State Ave… that's her address." He points out the line and Tucker nods, looking up at his friend expectantly.

"Yeah, I figured if we hurry we can head over there before you had to leave, we might be able to find something out."

Danny committed the address to memory and attempted to map out where it was in Elmerton in his head. If he was right, he could make it there and back in 20 minutes tops. He almost went ghost right that second and took off in that direction, but he hesitated. What was he looking for? More proof of what they already know? Did he want to invade into this girl's privacy even more than they already had? It's easy to justify it as right given the circumstances, but it still felt… wrong.

Danny was itching to do something, but the lack of purpose combined with Vlad's warning stopped him.

"I don't know- what… would we even expect to find?"

Sam shakes her head. "I've got the same idea. As much as we want to get up and take action…" she trails off, thinking.

"We can always figure out if the place is actually being used, or maybe if Autumn herself is okay. I mean there is a chance he jumped bodies."

"I can see it being worth a look," Sam says. "but as much as I hate to say it, Vlad's probably right. If we go in there and get in a fight it could be bad, especially since we have no idea who or what might be there."

Danny glances at her and chuckles. "Never thought I'd hear you say that Vlad's right."

"Don't get used to it, I'm still convinced he's scheming something."

That was… fair. He still rolls his eyes.

Tucker hums. "If the ghost _did_ want to keep Autumn as their captor, they might find a new apartment. It'll get an awful lot harder to find them then."

Danny sits and contemplates this. Both of them were right. (of course they were) There was a risk of going, and there was a risk of not going. Stay safe and lose a possible lead, or run headlong into a dangerous trap?

Dang did he hate these decisions. He hated it when he had time to weigh the options, calculate the risks, think of the possible outcomes, contingencies. It was easier under pressure. Easier for his gut to take over and _force_ a decision- he didn't have to think and worry, he just took action. Right now his gut was all over the place, choosing one option and then flopping to the other once he really thought about it. He paces around the room as he thinks.

Jeez, it really did look like combat was his only strong point. That's depressing. You'd think the son of two world-reknown scientists would be better at this whole critical thinking thing. But alas, a decision still had to be made. Danny worried his lip as he made his choice, knowing his friends weren't going to like it.

"Alright, I'm going. Can't stand waiting like this." He stops his pacing and drops his backpack to the ground.

"We're coming with you." Sam shrugs her own backpack on tighter. Danny shakes his head.

"No, I'm going in as quietly as possible. Invisible and intangible." He puts a Fenton Phone in his ear. "I'll have you guys on comms, but only speak if I speak first."

"Why can't we go with?" Sam argues. "If something _does_ go down then we can be there to back you up."

"Because I don't need to breathe, I don't have a heartbeat, I don't make sound." He backs to the other side of the room and changes into Phantom. "If there's anyone there then I'll fly out as quickly as possible, but I can't-" He can feel his core buzzing with anticipation. "I can't let the chance to do something slide by."

"Bring your phone. Cell phone." Tucker turns back to his computer. "If something happens then we'll know your location." He pulls out a Fenton Phone and puts it in his ear. "Hopefully that won't need to happen, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

Sam grumbles and turns away. "I still don't think going alone is a good idea, but… I know you're right."

Danny smiles fondly at his two friends and then checks the time.

4:00 pm. He had about an hour before his parents were going to start complaining about him being gone, and after that Jazz can only keep them from at bay for so long. Not exactly limited time, but he didn't want to push it more than he needed to.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry." He clips both his phone and Thermos on their predetermined spots on his suit and floats up and through Tucker's ceiling, taking off in the direction of Elmerton.

After a few moments, Danny hears his earpiece crackle to life, a second comm jumping into the channel. _"Phantom, do you copy?"_

"Loud and clear dude. Hey, have there been any mentions of ghost attacks in that area in the past week?"

" _Um, near your destination? Hang on."_ A pause. _"No, it doesn't look like it."_

"Interesting. It doesn't seem like the ghost is very active. You can add that onto our list of 'pointless observations' if you want." He rolls his eyes. There seems to be a high number of elements about this ghost that they just can't seem to connect together. He'll have to go over all of the details next week again, probably with Vlad.

A laugh on the other line. _"Will do."_

As Danny flies towards the street the house is on, he watches the skyline shift dramatically. He glides over Amity's business district, weaving between the skyscrapers and looking at his ghostly reflection in the glass. He watches the traffic thin as that same scene is left behind him, following the interstate towards Elmerton through Amity's northern suburbs. He frowns as the bright, large, clean houses slowly shrink in size and become more and more rundown, until a busy multilane road littered with dirty gas stations and predatory loan firms marks a sharp divide in the communities.

He pauses over that road, scanning the addresses and turning west. The homes gradually become replaced with apartment buildings, and Danny slows and descends to find the right one. He fades from visibility and halts over her building, the largest one on the block with a sparse parking lot behind it. A quick observation shows overflowing trash bins, broken down window AC units, and a number of cracked or broken windows. Danny furrows his brow at the sight. Perhaps he could extend his patrol into Elmerton with his newfound free time.

"3125 South State Ave?"

" _That's it. You find it?"_

Danny nods, despite nobody there to see him. "Yeah, heading into her apartment now. Don't say _anything_. I have no idea who's there, but I'll yell if anything happens."

" _Okay, be careful dude. Sam says the same."_

"Thanks guys. Call you in a few." Danny turns his communicator down to the lowest volume and heads inside, not taking so much as a breath to reveal his presence.

 _Apartment 23… probably second floor._

He meanders through a hallway that clearly hasn't been cleaned in a while and stops in front of her door, noticing that it really isn't unlike any of the others throughout the building. For some reason that's… not what he expected.

 _Jeez Phantom, it's not like the dang door is gonna scream 'Hey look, a ghost lives here!' or something._ He rolls his eyes and floats through the thin barrier.

The inside of the apartment is closer to his expectations. As soon as he enters he's in the kitchen, which looks to be… the hallway of the entire apartment. Immediately to his right was a bathroom with a small shower, and then the next room, a bedroom. At the end of the hallway, there's a somewhat open room that has a couch and a small table, so probably the living room. He doesn't imagine that the space extends any farther than what he can see, so he decides to check out the bathroom first.

He floats in and his first observation is that it's small. _Really_ small. Too small to actually have anything incriminating in it. He takes a quick look around, the only thing out of the ordinary is a crack running through the mirror from one of its bolts. He sticks his head through the shower curtain and reads the names of the off-brand soaps, and _also_ notices that the shower's been used, probably in the past few hours.

 _Someone lives here, that's for sure._ He pulls his head out through the curtain and then phases through the wall to the bedroom.

Similarly small, but it at least has some semblance of personality in it. Deep red and purple curtains cover what Danny thinks to be a closet, and a dresser peeks out from behind them. A few books are piled in the corner of the room, and a lamp sits on the floor next to a mattress with a few miscellaneous blankets on top of it. He looks around, taking note that the apartment is actually surprisingly clean. For some reason he expected the floors to be strewn with laundry, the bed to be unmade, and the kitchen to be a mess, but a glance back out into the hallway disproves all of those ideas. The only thing that could be called messy is the pile of books, but even they have a certain charm to them.

 _Is this… do I have the right place?_

He takes a closer look at the clothes in the closet and the books on the floor, noticing that they bear a striking resemblance to Sam's dark yet feminine style- there even seems to be a few Skulk n' Lurk rental tags across their bindings.

 _Skulk n' Lurk huh, this probably is the place then._

He crouches down and looks at the titles of the books, taking note of them to relay to Sam. He actually recognizes a few of them, one or two written by Freakshow on old harmless legends, a few on Greek and Roman mythology, one or two on old ghost lore and theories. He smiles, recalling the first time he read those same stories in search of answers about his own existence.

He moves further down the stack, and his eyes widen when he sees one that has a title written in ghostspeak.

 _This-_ He looks at the title and curses at the worn spine, he can tell that it's clearly ghostspeak, as fragmented as the symbols are, but the cracked leather and rental tag obstruct the majority of the meaning. _This could be something._

Danny debates just taking the book and to hell with the consequences, but he figures it might be better to keep the fact that he knows the location of Autumn's apartment a secret.

He stands up and looks around, not noticing any other incriminating items readily available. He takes a quick look through the closet and, after not finding anything else, phases through the wall to the living room.

He scans the room and moves to the one window the entire apartment has. He looks out the broken shades to see a railroad track, a dive bar, and a pizza joint. The ground rumbles and he can hear a distant whistle signifying an oncoming train. Danny sighs at the fact that she has to live in these conditions, especially alone after the tragedies she's been through. She probably doesn't get much sleep either.

A shifting in the back corner of the room causes his head to snap towards the noise. A hand goes to his thermos as he silently floats over to the source. At the opposite corner of the room, a large blue blanket is heaped up, with some moving mass beneath it. He edges closer to the being, remaining as soundless as possible to not give away his presence.

He watches the blanket slide back some, a dark brown lock of hair spilling along the floor. Focusing on the energy in the room, he can't seem to feel the same ectosignature that he did in the school, and slowly approaches.

He's only a foot away from her at this point. He watches the blanket rise and fall with her steady breathing and bites his lip in contemplation.

 _They… she's alone._ He looks around and reaches his hand out to the girl, but he stops less than an inch away from touching her. Close enough where any conscious human could easily feel the ghostly chill he gives off.

 _But they've avoided my detection before._

He could take her away from here, whisk her away to Fentonworks and prevent her from ever coming in contact with that ghost again. It would probably put the breaks on anything that's being planned from ever coming to fruition. It could stop this entire thing.  
But she might _not_ be alone. Even a weak ghost could feel a core as powerful as his hovering this close. They could be dormant- yet still watching. A coiled cobra, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. An opportunist.

And he'd be bringing them right to his family, right to his friends.

He feels a weak pulse from his core, a reminder of his inability to be of any real help if things went south. He was already pushing his luck by being here, going against Vlad's advice, Sam's warning. He flicks his eyes towards her bedroom. There could even be a chance that she _wants_ this ghost around, based on the books she has in her bedroom. While her reading choices could have been coincidental, there was no doubt that those were a result of ghost research, the ghostspeak one especially. Detaining ghosts is one thing, kidnapping a teenager? Phantom's critics would have a _field day_ with that one.

Although… she called out to him. Pleaded for Phantom to help her.

Which allowed them to get away. A trick.

He could be using her.

Danny grabs his head, frustrated about another decision- this one riskier than the one before it. He drags his hands down his face and closes his eyes, completely at a loss as to what to do.

 _No, you know what to do. It's just the harder decision._

He drops his hands to his side and takes a breath, the first one he's taken since he's been here. He looks around at the empty apartment one last time, and then rises up and through the ceiling.

He doesn't look back.

 **A/N: So that apartment is one that I used to live in when I was a kid, there were rough times for our family, so I'm pretty familiar with low-income housing and not-so-safe suburbs. And yes, the kitchen really** _ **was**_ **the hallway. If you tried to open the oven the door would bang against the opposite wall.**

 **I always had fun walking along the train tracks though. And we had a balcony!**

 **She doesn't though. :(**


	19. 15: Lens

**A/N: Having a bit of writer's block. Unfortunately, this chapter didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but it does its job!**

"Danny!"

Danny sinks through the ceiling of Tucker's house and transforms before he even touches the carpet. Sam and Tucker are immediately on him, the former engulfing him in a bone-crushing hug.

"My god Danny, you went silent like half an hour ago, we were worried sick!" She holds him out at arm's length and looks him over, presumably for injuries.

He squirms under her palms. "Yeah, uh, sorry. I had… I just wanted to make sure I wasn't followed." He shakes her arms off of him and pulls out his phone to check the time. Quarter to 5.

"At least I made good time." He slides his phone back in his pocket and walks over to Tucker's desk, picking up a pen and a pad of sticky notes. Sam watches him.

"Did you find anything interesting?" Tucker asks, already looking at what's being written. A few symbols are scribbled on the paper, most of them fragments.

"Yeah, there wasn't much- it was definitely her apartment though. In hindsight I think I should have grabbed a pen and paper, she had a bunch of books from the Skulk n' Lurk that seemed suspicious." He picks up the note and squints at the written ghostspeak symbols, trying to remember what he could. "Most of them were just stuff that we've checked out before, legends, mythology, but one was written in ghostspeak- one I didn't recognize. We haven't come across it before."

He slides the note in front of Sam and Tucker, who both look at it questioningly.

"It looks like a half-finished game of hangman, what's up with that?" Tucker asks. Danny shakes his head.

"The leather on the spine was all cracked, and the rental tag was covering some of it too. I've had some ideas on what it might say, but I'll have to think about it for a while." He puts his hands on his hips. "Speaking it might come naturally, but reading and writing are tricky."

Sam picks up the slip of paper with some curiosity. "Too bad the SnL doesn't follow the Dewey Decimal system, otherwise you could've just told them the number." She sighs and drops it in front of Tucker again. "The book's still unique enough that they'll probably be able to tell us what it's about or where they found it, though."

Danny nods and takes a seat on Tucker's bed. "Right, I guess that means we have a lead." He pauses, tapping his foot. The room goes silent for a little bit. Danny fidgets on the bed, unsure of what to say.

"You know, um… she was there. At the apartment." He says.

Both Sam and Tucker look at Danny with confused faces. "I thought you were going to back out if you weren't alone?"

"Um, I was." He leans back to lie on the bed so he doesn't have to see their faces. "But I didn't notice her at first. She was covered with a blanket. I didn't feel the um... ghost with her, but I wasn't sure, so I left."

"Well we're glad you got out of there okay," Tucker spins around in his chair. "you probably dodged a bullet there. Did she seem alright?" Sam just crosses her arms.

"I couldn't really tell since she was um… sleeping. I really wanted to pull her out of there, but there were just… too many factors. I didn't know whether the ghost was dormant, couldn't figure out if she _wanted_ to be saved, didn't want to deal with basically _kidnapping_ someone, and I- on top of me leaving tonight? It just didn't seem like a risk I could take right now." He rests a hand on his chest. "It didn't seem like- it didn't feel good though." He sits up on his elbows to face his two friends. "What if… she really needed my help?"

Sam and Tucker look to the ground with solemn expressions before getting up and joining Danny on the bed. "It's alright dude, we still got some good info from it. We'll take a look about that book while you're gone and hopefully figure something out."

Sam nods in agreement. "Yeah, what were the other books too? It might be worth looking into then even though we've already seen them, there was a lot of stuff we didn't look at."

Danny smiles at the attempts his friends make to cheer him up and sits up, taking the pen and notepad from Sam. "Sure. There were two by Freakshow, one on basic occult knowledge, one on standard ghost stuff, and two on Greco-Roman mythology." He scribbles some titles down and hands them to Sam. "All of them were purchased in Amity as far as I could tell, and the ghostspeak one was a rental."

Sam reads the full list. "Sure, the fact that it was a rental means it was probably in the owners' collection, some of the books that we've used- like the gauntlet one- are in that bunch, but they don't hand them out to just anyone." She folds the note and slips it in her backpack. "We can check it out tonight or tomorrow and I'll text you the info."

"Thanks. And Tuck- I don't know if I told you this, but you're a genius for finding that address." He flops back on the bed.

Tucker gingerly touches his fingertips to his chest and tosses his head to the side in a haughty gesture. "Why of course my man, why would you expect any less of me?" He lies next to Danny on the bed. "I'll keep looking over the week, see if I can't dig up anything else. In the meantime, you should enjoy your vacation!"

Danny laughs. "Oh man, I know right? It's such a load off to know Vlad's taking care of patrols for a week, I don't have to worry about Amity going off the rails while I'm gone."

"You're _sure_ he's not going to try to take over?" Sam asks. "You'll be gone for almost a whole week."

Danny ponders this for a moment. "Huh, I guess we'll see, won't we?"

" _Danny!"_

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Danny!"

"What? Jeez, Jazz gimme like 15 seconds, I'm finding my _completely necessary_ coat."

"Young man it is 21 degrees Fahrenheit outside, you _are_ wearing a jacket!"

"Okay okay, I'm coming. _Chill._ "

Jazz snorts.

Danny glances at his phone for the time, smiling at his sister's embarrassed expression. "It's only like 9 pm anyways, there's still plenty of night left." He runs out the hotel room door to join his family in the hallway, his father already walking out the back hotel doors to the RV.

"Yeah, but I want to get to sleep at a normal time to get to the waterpark early. I haven't been to one in years!" Jazz holds the door open for Danny on their way out.

"Honestly I'm surprised you didn't bring a laminated book to read in the lazy river." He nudges Jazz in the elbow. "Sounds like something you'd do."

She rolls her eyes. "It'd be better to just bring a Kindle in a ziplock bag. Laminating a book sounds impractical."

"Jack!" Their mom yells. "Make sure you don't hit any cars pulling out of the spot this time!" She lowers her voice a bit before continuing. "We don't want a repeat of last year _please!_ "

Danny gets into the RV with his family and looks out the window as they drive. Due to the cold weather and strange timing they're lucky enough to get the resort mostly to themselves, which is probably the best possible outcome for them. Fewer people to see Danny (mis)use his powers, fewer people to see his parents be embarrassing, shorter lines, cheaper prices, and best of all-

Completely peaceful stargazing!

The RV drives over the sand of the beach and parks along the banks of the lake. Jack excitedly gets out of the car and looks up at the night sky.

"Man, back in our day we could drive for 5 minutes out and see a view like this. We'd sit in the back of a pickup with a few blankets and talk away the nights under the stars." He puts his arm around Maddie, keeping his eyes to the sky. "Makes you think of all the stuff we took for granted back then, huh Mads? And look, no clouds."

Danny climbs on top of the RV and lies flat on the roof. He sighs as he lies there and takes it all in. This is _way_ more stars than he's used to seeing over his pond.

"C'mon Jack, why don't we get the telescope out? Let's see if we can't find some planets."

Maddie and Jack retreat back into the RV, and Jazz joins Danny on the roof.

"Hey little brother. How're things going?"

Danny glances down towards his parents fumbling with the telescope and sighs. "Better, thanks." He replies.

Since Jazz got out of high school she quickly became Team Phantom's de facto trauma psychiatrist, and while Sam and Tucker were reluctant to use her as such, Danny gave her a chance, understanding that both of them could benefit from it. At first it was hard, they'd usually resort to arguing about Danny's habits, how unsafe he was being, basically overprotective-sister / flippant-brother attitudes overriding the actual purpose of the discussions. It _also_ didn't help that Danny wasn't opening up to her as he should be, and he would be the first to admit that.

Eventually, Jazz realized that Danny responded well by just having someone _listen_ and providing an explanation on why he's feeling certain ways. Turns out having a secret identity and being a scientific anomaly can be pretty stressful, and those pent up thoughts don't particularly have a wonderful effect on someone's mental health. Sure, Sam and Tucker were there for him, but they get… awkward when Danny talks about his troubles- although they're happy enough to listen, he doesn't really enjoy putting that stress on them. It's not like he didn't manage fine enough on his own, he knew things could have been much worse.

But now? Jazz is his tether to sanity when things get bad. He should remind himself to talk to her later, he hasn't since the Star thing and he can feel himself slipping, ever so slightly.

"I'm actually pretty calm, knowing someone's watching over the town while I'm gone. It'll be nice to… focus on me for a little bit." He rolls his head over to look at Jazz. "Hopefully this way I won't have ghosts on my mind the entire trip."

Jazz settles cross-legged next to him and chuckles, tipping her head in the direction of their parents. "Hopefully you're not the only one."

Danny sits up on his elbows and looks down at the two ghost hunters, eavesdropping on their conversation while they fiddle with stabilizing the telescope in the sand.

"It might be possible- if we treat the thermos in a similar way as a telescope and add additional lenses to extend the beam…"

"It may be possible to create a long-distance capture device! Jack, yes! The particles do share similarities with photons, but the question would be if the ghost can maintain integrity while being put under that strain… we could-"

Danny complains loudly. " _Jeeez_ guys we're on vacation, don't you ever stop talking about ghosts?" Danny's head falls back onto the roof of the RV with a _thunk_ , and Jazz giggles.

"Now Danny," Maddie lets go of the telescope with a look of triumph and rests her hands on her hips. "This is your father and I's lifelong work, of course we're passionate about it. We couldn't have gotten this far if we weren't."

Jack nods and smacks the top of the telescope. "And plus, ghosts are cool! Every time we get our hands on a new scrap of information it's fulfilling, and the satisfaction of discovering a breakthrough?" He wipes a fake tear from his eye. "Magnificent."

Jazz shakes her head and sighs. "Yes but being obsessed with one thing for so long? Not particularly healthy- especially something so…" she pauses. "Inhumane is too cruel of a word, but it's what I'm getting at. Even ghost obsessions change and evolve, almost as if they know it's detrimental to their mental, and therefore physical, stability."

"Oh boy, tried to avoid ghost talk and just ended up walking into it, nice going psycho-nerd." Danny rolls his eyes and stares back into the sky, and Jazz gives him an apologetic smile. "You like this, don't you?"

"Maybe."

"Jazzy-pants, you know we've taken steps to be nicer to ghosts, just for you and Danny."

" _But,"_ Maddie continues. "there's still no proof that they actually _feel_ pain. Ectoplasm doesn't react in the same way as a nervous system would, and the closest thing they have to a brain isn't worth the comparison."

Danny cuts in. "Core's more like a heart, really. They don't _got_ no brains." He throws a smirk at Jazz, who holds off a laugh.

Maddie rolls her eyes. "And their obsession is more like an inborn instinct. Just as fear, food, and sex are most animal's, an obsession is similar. A snake doesn't have a brain, only a brain stem, but it's still able to make decisions, strategize, and process information, but not much outside of their base needs and instincts.

" _But_ a snake still has a central nervous system, which a ghost lacks, so it _can_ feel pain. The closest thing to a ghost on that front might be something more like... a jellyfish, with the core and its ectoplasm acting as a nerve net, something already heavily studied and well understood- and jellyfish don't feel pain. Conclusion? Yes- it can detect and respond to adverse stimuli, but no- it does not feel what we would call pain."

She takes a breath and scratches her head, likely feeling empty without her goggles and mask. "The easiest way to make scientific deductions about a new subject is by comparing it to similar, existing ones. While ghosts are a little… different from anything previously seen, we can still run some comparisons and draw accurate conclusions from those. It's just about doing the additional research."

"That still… it doesn't make it right, even if you _are_ right. I mean, have you actually _talked_ to any of them? They're obviously more intelligent than any animal, and they have the emotional range of a human, in fact- on every mental level they _are_ human, probably because they _were_ human! Take… take Phantom for instance-" Danny shoots a glare at Jazz. "Phantom has held full on conversations with press, victims, police, students, everyone. What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh Phantom's never followed any of our research, it's an anomaly! Tell me about any other ghost and I might be more receptive to your observations. Your average ghost doesn't hold conversation." Maddie waves a hand in dismissal. "Absolutely none of our research on it follows any other ghost's, it's infuriating. He might be a more mature or older ghost, or even a newer ghost, but nothing matches."

Jack starts to tally off his fingers one by one. "Ectoplasmic composition, speech patterns, temperature, density, flight paths, appearances, growth, abilities, texture-"

"Wait wait wait, texture? Temperature? Density? _Ectoplasmic composition-_ Wh- where are you getting that?" Danny sits up again and looks at his dad with a confused expression, and Jack just shrugs.

"Well, as you said, it's had plenty of conversations with the people of Amity, so we've been speaking with those that have interacted with it closely. In the downtime between ghost attacks, we've been trying to get more secondhand information. While it isn't the most accurate, it's still useful."

" _Okaaay._ That's um, a _lot_ of information that unqualified people have, do you think it's even… right?" Danny holds back the urge to rub his neck.

"Well, we've interviewed a lot of people, including ones that have been in contact with average ghosts, and their stories are all consistent. _Really_ consistent." Jack leans on the RV.

"They say," Maddie says. "he felt like a human. You'd be surprised how much information that gives us."

Danny pales a little bit, more by habit than anything.

 _Isn't this a good thing?_ He asks himself. _It's best if they find out on their own. As long as they don't come up with some crazy theory then it should be fine._

 _Yes, this is good. I'll have to be ready any day now. I want them to find out. I need them to. The longer this secret lasts, the worse it'll be when I tell them._

"Well," He says, cutting off his own thoughts. "what about ectoplasmic composition? I doubt the average person would be able to tell you about that."

His dad laughs. "Son, it leaves more ectoplasm on the scene than blood in a blood bank, getting samples was easy enough- purifying it is the tough bit. Usually a lot of foreign contaminants, and it's _really_ unstable. Almost anything done, even on a tiny scale, causes the ectoplasm to deteriorate and eat at itself. Tedious process."

"Well," He smirks. "That _is_ probably the best you're gonna get- since you're never gonna catch him." He pulls his phone out and adds that new info into the Halfa file.

"That's where you're wrong Danny-boy!" Jack runs back inside of the RV. It shakes from his weight. "With that purified ectoplasm, we should be able to create a better tracker! We can finally figure out where it goes when it's not causing huge amounts of property damage." A stack of papers falls over in the RV, and then… it sounds like he's rustling through his tools?

"Don't you think that the property damage would be _worse_ without him?" Danny says. "And uh, what about this new tracker?" He glances towards Jazz and furrows his brow, definitely not excited about where this is going. She presses her lips together.

Maddie sighs. "Jack, did you really bring that thing with? It hasn't even gone through preliminary testing yet, and Phantom's miles from here." She adjusts the telescope and continues to look through it.

"When's the last time we've tested anything _traditionally?_ But no, apparently I didn't bring it, but I meant to. Wanted to… tinker with it more." The RV lurches as he steps out of it rubbing the back of his head. "I did bring the blueprints though, if you kids are interested. I know Danny likes to peek at 'em every once in awhile."

Danny shrugs. "I'll take a look at them later. We still think you should abandon this whole 'hunting for Phantom' thing though. He really does help, and the kids in the high school seem to… worship him." He taps on his phone a few times, sending a message to Tucker and Sam. He'll have them check out this new tracker, maybe dispose of it if it's looking sketchy.

"Aw Danno, at some point we'll have the scientific proof that ghosts are just impressions of their previous lives, no more sentient than your average artificial intelligence." He walks over to the telescope with Maddie and looks through it himself. "Although, that Ghost Gabber is still lippy as ever. Did you do that honey?"

"What? Course not sweetie." She rubs his back and winks at the kids. "Do you see Mercury? I believe I've picked it out, but we'd have to get Danny down here to be sure. He's the expert." She glances over at Danny and gives him a small smile.

Danny smirks back. "No, that'd be Mars, probably. Mercury's too close to the sun to be seen right now. If you look east you might be able to see Uranus though." He glances up at the sky and over to the thin slice of the moon that's visible. "But I think it's best to look at the moon through a telescope anyways. Ours isn't powerful enough to see much else clearly."

"My little astronomer." Maddie takes a seat on the sand next to the telescope and gazes at the cosmic soup floating above her, expression softening to a nostalgic fondness. "Maybe we could make an investment. We've had that thing for… ages. I think there's an eclipse coming up, too."

"It's a penumbral." He replies, peering back up to the sky as well. Relaxation sinks deep into his core, like a cool breeze on a summer night. He smiles.

"That'd be nice."

 **A/N: I wanted to convey Danny and Jazz's disagreement with their parents' ideas more realistically than most fics do. Maddie and Jack understand that their kids have differing opinions and are perfectly fine to accept them. They're good parents, but extenuating circumstances lead them to look worse than they really are.**

 **Anyways, their resolve is to continue to work for definite proof of their beliefs. As scientists, they understand that their hypotheses aren't theory quite yet, they're missing that last scrap of proof that pushes it over that line.**

 **Now, what will they find, I wonder? And will they accept it?**


	20. 16: Halfas

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the follows and favorites! You keep me going.**

 **Oh, and if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of straying away from the predetermined prompts. They gave me inspiration!**

Star sits in her room that Wednesday night restless, antsy, and completely unable to slip into a comfortable sleep. She's been lying in bed for almost three hours now, and while she could hear the soft whirring of the shield generator underneath her bed and could feel the cool band of technology around her waist, she _still_ couldn't keep her eyes closed, let alone fall asleep. Every time she closes her eyes she feels her entire world spin, and when she opens them it magically makes it better. Not to mention the dryness of her throat right now. Hmph. She should really pull out the humidifier.

She furrows her brow and turns on her bedside light. Squinting, she makes her way over to her desk to grab the book she's been meaning to finish, digging through the stack of papers and magazines she's _also_ been meaning to go through after this whole mess calmed down. She sighs and runs a hand through her hair.

 _One little thing happens and it spins my entire world around. Figures._

She momentarily gives up on the book and instead heads downstairs to grab herself a glass of water for her parched throat. On her way back she double-checks the security system and, upon making sure it's armed, shuffles back upstairs.

 _I guess most people wouldn't call a near-death experience a 'little thing'._ She looks into the glass of water as she sits back down at her desk, watching the ripples dance across the water as her hand trembles.

She'll likely blame that on the cooling months until the day she dies.

Star sighs again, her eyes sweeping back across the messier mess of her desk. She _really_ didn't want to deal with that right now. Or ever. Ugh. When did dealing with a messy desk become so tiring?

She curls her legs up to her chest and uses her free hand to spin around in her desk chair. While it definitely doesn't help her vertigo situation, it distracts her from some of the more paranoia-induced thoughts that have been making periodic appearances in her mind lately.

She stops after a while and stares at a fixed point across the room to get her bearings again. She contemplates simply heading back into bed and just staring at her phone all night to distract her further, hopefully eventually becoming drowsy enough to pass out, but as it turns out she's staring directly at her book bag.

Which reminds her that she brought her book to class the other day to read during Study.

 _Jeez, how scatterbrained can I even get?_ Star stands up from her chair and grabs her backpack, tossing it up on the bed with her and burying herself back beneath the warm covers. She opens the largest pocket to resume the search for her book but another thing catches her eye before she can find it.

She pulls a slightly crumpled packet out from the bottom of her bag. She picks at the corners, weakly trying to flatten them out while staring at the one word printed on the cover sheet.

 _Halfas._

Star slides her backpack off of the bed without taking her eyes off of the packet. She had already read all of the files sent to her by Tucker, she made it a point to after being too confused for her liking during the meeting earlier in the day. If she was being honest with herself, she almost forgot that Danny even gave this to her, it feels like so long ago- even though not even a week has passed.

 _After you read this, burn it._

 _Do not make copies. Commit it to memory._

She hesitates but opens the packet up to its first page. She's greeted by a wall of text, and it really _does_ look like a printout from Notepad, the monotype font giving the document a government-official feel despite the fact that it was likely created by a group of teens. If a piece of paper could be called intimidating, this would be it. All it needs is a big red stamp labeled 'CLASSIFIED' across the front, too.

She begins to read.

 _While Halfa physiology is almost visually identical to a human's, (explaining their easy ability to blend in with their populace) there are some fundamental differences that make them unique to any other being in existence, even ghosts. The largest and most notable difference from humans involves their physical functionality running entirely by ectoplasm. While a true human body requires various organ systems working in tandem with each other to keep them alive, a Halfa system supplements various 'missing' functionality (due to the natural body's death) with ectoplasmic energy created by their ghost core._

Star pauses at that, rereading the last bit over again.

 _Due to the natural body's death._

 _"Turns out, if you die by a surge of electrified ectoenergy, your ghost becomes bonded to your, um, human cells. Somehow."_

 _"Star, I'm a ghost."_

Right, she remembers that now. Danny hasn't… he didn't just get some cool ghost powers, he didn't just 'half' die. He died. He's dead. But still… He's still _alive_. Perhaps not in the traditional sense or in the way a doctor would declare it, but he lives life just the same as anyone else, and if he chose to not be Phantom, he'd be… well… normal.

She reads on, again pushing that thought to the far reaches of her mind. It isn't her life to be concerned with, after all.

 _For example, the respiratory system is almost entirely unneeded due to cellular energy being replaced with ectoplasmic, making the circulatory system equally inert sans its purpose in allowing active ectoplasm to flow in and out of the Halfa's core. These two systems' lack of functionality leads to all Halfas lacking both a heartbeat and (necessary) breathing, which continues to be the clearest tell of their true nature._

 _Although, due to their partial status as a human, the latter still comes instinctually, and long periods without breathing can cause mental instabilities such as anxiety, depression, and body dysphoria- to name a few. Somehow, speaking is still possible during this time. It is not known whether this instinctual behavior can be overridden without serious repercussions._

Star cringes a bit, knowing that the only way they could obtain this information is through pure experience. She thinks of Danny, or even Vlad, sitting for days on end, avoiding to take a single breath for the desire to understand the way their own body works.

And it likely wasn't just out of idle curiosity either. They needed to understand. For what they do, it's critical.

 _In addition to the respiratory and circulatory systems, the skeletal, muscular, nervous, and lymphatic systems also seem to be either entirely ran or heavily supplemented by ectoplasmic energy, leading to more durable bones, strengthened muscles, enhanced senses, and an impenetrable immune system, respectively. While the extent of impact to the other systems is not known, they all function in relative similarity to the average human's, leading current hypotheses to believe that some human 'parts' are still necessary, only requiring the ectoplasm to 'run' them to function the same as a normal human."_

She allows herself to chuckle. Leave it to Danny for every word that comes out of his mouth to have a double meaning. 'More durable' indeed.

Star flips through the next few pages, most of them being a slew of tables putting the previously stated statistics to concrete numbers. Body temperature, weight, strength, speeds, and a number of miscellaneous graphs, it was all there in black and white. Statistics that the average paranormal scientist would drool over. Or kill over.

Although there were no names or identifying factors like ages or gender, Star could realize the danger of this falling into the wrong hands. Imagining the Fentons knowing Phantom's top speed, his body temperature, his ectoplasmic output- even she could figure out ways to catch him from those three statistics alone, let alone two genius inventors.

She keeps skipping ahead until she reaches a new chapter. Similar to the cover, it has a title page with a single word on it.

" _Death"_

She swallows and takes a long drink of water before turning the page, the weight of the situation gradually pressing down on her shoulders as if someone was standing behind her and doing so. She turns the page.

 _In respect to a Halfa's 'death', many factors are still a mystery due to the rarity of their existence, but a few things can be gathered from their current populace. They will be listed here._

It goes into an elaborate numbered list, she flips through a few pages and takes note of the additional graphs and tables after each point. She starts at the beginning.

 _1\. During a Halfa's 'death', a large amount of active ectoplasm must be present and flowing within the subject's body for it to continue life-sustaining functionality. It is possible that the ectoplasm may need to be electrified, but this is unknown due to inconsistent circumstances._

 _\- This is perhaps the most critical point of all Halfas, the one necessity to ensure their survival and continuation (the rebirth) after their body's death. Another possible hypothesis is that the electricity present in the Halfa's exposure to ectoplasm might somehow bind it to their cells, allowing them to work together seamlessly. This idea stems from the fact that when ectoplasm is typically introduced to human cells it results in their death and the deterioration of the entire mixture._

 _\- As for the details about the change, not much is known. The subjects that have been created have both similar but different circumstances. All cite exposure to electrified ectoplasm, but all 'died' at different stages. For example, one during the exact event, and one several years later. All were infused with ectoplasm during the time of their death, which is what caused their rebirth._

As Star reads she wonders who wrote this entire thing. It's definitely a thick packet, but it's clearly trying to act as professional as possible. An image of Vlad flashes through her mind, but she dismisses that on account of the heavy usage of the "halfa" term he seems to dislike. She reads on.

 _2\. During a Halfa's 'death', the subject needs a strong drive towards something or someone, this becoming their obsession during rebirth. Halfas skip the phase of deducing what their obsession is by trial and error as a normal ghost would. They know their purpose as soon as they're reborn._

 _\- Without an obsession, the ectoplasmic core will begin to break down, the lack of energy sustaining it eventually leading to the deterioration of the body. While a non-sentient ghost can maintain a form without an obsession or a core, a Halfa cannot survive in the same way due to the drain that their human body's required functionality needs. These obsessions follow the same rules as any standard ghost's, although they will likely be more aggressive in their pursuit of it._

 _\- Like a ghost's, these obsessions can change and evolve over time._

An obsession, the need for purpose, the drive to continue living after death, there was extensive info about that in the other files. Any ghost that has a complex form needs one as a source of energy.

She wonders what Danny's might be. Or Vlad's. Obsession sounds like such a negative term, but they both seemed at least mostly mentally stable. She knows better than to ask though, it's not something ghosts like to talk about, according to the files.

 _3\. A Halfa's 'death' has a strong effect on the type of core created as well as the ghost's composition and weaknesses._

 _\- While in most aspects, standard ghosts harness the cause of their death as a point of strength, (likely due to their refusal of death) Halfas typically find it as a point of weakness (likely due to their denial of death). Current subjects show an electrical death triggers a weakness to electricity, and a disease-related death triggers an increased susceptibility to (ghostly) disease._

Electricity. That would explain his great distaste for the Spectre Deflector. She cringes as she thinks back to the accidental shock she gave him before. To be reminded of your own death every time…

Now that she thought about it, Danny gets shocked _a lot_ , doesn't he? She's seen Skulker use a few electric weapons, and the computer ghost, Technus, his entire _arsenal_ consists of electricity based attacks. She knows she's seen more, too.

She thinks of Danny writing this, but it doesn't particularly feel right. Based on his mental struggling every time he mentions a ghostly part of him, he probably would prefer to _not_ do this. It would be easy to be biased too, since you are your own subject.

That rules both him and Vlad out as the writers, likely.

 _4\. Halfas can 'transform' from their human form to their ghostly form at will._

 _\- This process is similar to intangibility, invisibility, and shapeshifting, and is a form of body modification that comes somewhat naturally at the Halfa's rebirth. The transformation process can vary (and expends an equally varied amount of energy, usually displayed in a ring of light) but each Halfa can easily transition to one of two forms, their natural human state (this is the default) or their 'birthed' ghost state. While the Halfa can access the majority of their ghostly abilities through their human state, some abilities can only be activated with the processes and energy provided by their ghostly cells. (Usually high-energy abilities such as complex core powers.) The ghost also raises in power level after the switch, since ectoplasm from the core flows more freely throughout and around their body, visible in each Halfa's ghostly aura._

Sam, Jazz, or Tucker, then. She thinks back to the day she spent with them and immediately rules out Sam. She likely wouldn't agree with Danny being a research subject or even recording this at all. She also displayed some discomfort, more than Danny, in talking about his more… unsettling ghostly tendencies. It was probably out of sympathy, she definitely knows it bothers Danny, so she probably avoids it to protect him.

Or _she_ might be the one that's uncomfortable. Although that likelihood seems… low. They're both good friends to Danny, anyone could see that.

 _5\. Halfas, when in their human state, are almost indiscernible from a human, visually._

 _\- Their blood flows red, their skin is whatever color it originally was upon 'death', they grow, they age, they maintain personality traits, and they are physically solid. The only two factors that can visually discern them from a human are the slight iridescent sheen their blood gives off (the mimicry of blood, or any liquid really, by ectoplasm isn't perfect, it seems) and there is a possibility that age or appearance may be able to be manipulated by the Halfa themselves, their ghost core, or even by external forces, but not much is known about this yet._

 _\- However, there are several other traits that can identify a Halfa. They're much cooler to the touch than a human, and they have several ghostly mannerisms. They sometimes stand eerily still, and move in a smooth (graceful or robotic, depending on the circumstances) manner. When they enter a room their presence is oftentimes not immediately felt, but when experiencing extreme emotion they can give off an aura of the appropriate type._

Due to the tone of the writing, it's hard to discern whether it was written by Tucker, Jazz, or even both of them working together. Tucker doesn't seem to shy away from anything regarding Danny's ghost side, even the more unsettling things, and Jazz is similar- as well as having this scientific curiosity about her.

 _6\. A Halfa can be created in any stage of the life cycle, from conception to adulthood._

This one caused Star to pause. How… did they manage to figure that out? Her brain runs through a number of scenarios of varying appropriateness, but shakes them out (as well as a blush) and moves on. Probably something to do with Vlad, she figures. It's easy to forget that he's a 40-something-year-old halfa too- probably with much more experience.

Then again, she doesn't really know who the older _ghost_ is, does she? Maybe that's something she's allowed to ask about.

 _7\. All of these 'rules' can likely be broken._

Wait, so that… that's _it?_

She flips through the previous few pages, taking note that yes, she has indeed read through the bulk of the packet. The next chapter is titled " _Additional Notes_ " but it only spans two or three more pages, and the amount of tables and statistics decreases drastically, only containing small secondary notations rather than entire in-depth analyses.

Star yawns and squints at the clock, rubbing her eyes as she asks herself where the time went. She reluctantly sets down the paper and her empty glass on her nightstand, hoping to at least try to get _some_ sleep before tomorrow, but also debating if she should just stay home sick. She never did get a break after the attack, and the lack of sleep isn't doing her any favors either. She glances over at the packet again and shoves it back into her backpack where it was.

 _I'm much more comfortable with that inside the ghost shield and on my person than it being in the house unprotected._

Her backpack slides down the side of her bed and onto the floor, and she completely envelops herself in the blankets. She pulls her phone out from underneath her pillow and gives it one last glance before drifting off.

Pausing when she sees a message from Danny.

 _Huh._

Danny - text me when you wake up, i've got a job for you if you're free.

 _A job._ Star contemplates this for a moment, but can't for the life of her figure out what he might mean by that. She starts to send a text back but remembers the time, and-

Did he really send this half an hour ago? Why-

Star - Why are you awake? But sure, what is it?

Well, she can always respond in the morning if she falls asleep. She sends it off and continues to rack her brain about what 'job' he might want her to do. It's not like she could fight ghosts, or confront Autumn, or go to the Ghost Zone. He wouldn't make her do anything dangerous, probably. Plus, Sam and Tucker are here, aren't they?

Her phone chimes, startling her. She didn't expect a reply this fast.

Danny - I don't sleep much lol, don't need to. just need you to go to my house and check something out, i'll call you after school tomorrow.

Star doesn't know how she's supposed to get into his house, it's not like she has a key, but Danny wouldn't ask her if he knew it was impossible.

More texts come in.

Danny - sorry I forgot to ask, are you busu?

Danny - busy*

Danny sam and tuck can't do it, they're doing something else. if you can't that's fine tho, not super important.

Star thinks for a moment, her parents are coming home tomorrow night, but she could find an excuse to make a detour.

Star - I'm not, unless it's going to take like the whole night. I can do it.

Danny - coolio, it should only take a little bit. call you tomorrow, get some sleep pls

Star laughs.

Star - I'm not the only one that needs to get sleep. You go to bed too.

Danny - ugh, fine. gn then

Star - Night, ttyl

Star plugs her phone back in and shoves it under her pillow, she really _should_ get some sleep. Can't be letting her grades slip right at the start of a new semester, her parents would have her hide for that.

She falls asleep in minutes.

 **A/N: There may be some inconsistencies with earlier chapters, but treat these notes as the correct version. I'll be going back sometime soon and editing those to be consistent with this.**

 **Let me know what you think of my ideas! Also… if you notice anything that doesn't make sense or have questions ;)**


	21. 17: Analysis

**A/N: Hey guys! Made another fanart for this fic, check it out on Imgur with the end tag gallery/f8Uicka**

"Hey, Star! What's up?"

"I'm here. Um… sooo..."

Star looks up at the large U.F.O.-esque disc adorning the top of Danny's home from the opposite street corner, feeling somewhat concerned about its structural integrity. Of course, she's been here before and it's not like anyone in town was unfamiliar with it, but it's always intimidating to be directly under. Being _inside_ twice in the same week? It felt strange.

"How do you expect me to get into your house? I can't imagine you just leave the door open." She glances down the road and crosses the street, trying to hear Danny's voice around the commotion in the background.

"Right, so- hang on."

Star hears the phone shuffle a little bit, and then Danny's muffled voice along with a few others. Was he with his family?

" _What? No, someone else."_

" _..."_

" _For the last time, Sam's not my girlfriend and-"_

" _..."_

" _ **No,**_ _neither is she! It's for-"_

Star chuckles a bit and shakes her head, amused by the conversation and somewhat disappointed she can only hear one half.

" _Ugh, it's for a group project, just… I'll be right back."_

" _..."_

" _I- do I need to be there for that? Just tell him I want a Pepsi, and then… some cheese curds."_

" _..."_

" _Yeah. Yeah, thanks. I'll just be outside."_

More shuffling, and then a sigh.

"Sorry about that, we're at some weird train restaurant to eat. You still there?"

Star looks back up at the strange building. "Yeah, I'm here. Your family sounds fun." She smiles into the phone with a hint of jealousy.

"I- yeah, they are. Way more eccentric than any other families, but… I love them. It's hard to not."

Star hums, stopping on the corner directly beside Danny's house. She watches her breath materialize in front of her and swaps her phone to her other hand.

"They're still _so embarrassing_ though… Anyways- if you go over by the fence in the back there should be some loose boards towards the back corner, if you slide them to the left you can get into the backyard. Um, it's kind of a mess back there. Sorry."

"This feels very... not legal, but okay."

Star runs her hand along the fence until she feels some boards give. She props her phone up with her shoulder and digs her nails between the fence, prying the boards to the side enough for her to slip through without snagging her jacket.

"Alright," she sets the boards back into place. "I'm through. Um- oh."

The backyard, to be blunt, _is_ a mess. Ghost-shaped pieces of plywood lean against the exterior of the house, and she can faintly see char marks faded onto the brick. Right across from her there were two large metal bins that looked to contain various glass and metal scrap, and beside her there were several other bins covered in tarps. A stack of sheet metal and a stack of glass leaned against the back fencing, and she could tell the wood was straining under their weight.

"Oh boy. Aren't your parents worried about this all getting wet and stuff? Or snowed on?"

"Well, the sheet metal outside is stainless, and the glass is well, glass. Strong glass. The other bins are scrap, a company takes them away every few weeks. There aren't usually finished inventions or anything that could be damaged out here, those are all inside.

"Anyways," He continues. "tucked behind the top of the doorframe you'll find a magnetic key box stuck there, you might have to get something to stand on, but that'll get you inside."

"Ohh, okay." She looks around the yard and grabs one of the chairs from their patio set. She holds her phone between her teeth and lifts the bulky chair onto the stoop. Standing on the chair, she reaches up onto the doorframe and glides her hand across, bumping into a smooth black box. She pulls it off of the frame.

"You think just leaving a key outside is a good idea?" Inside the box is a key painted with a dab of toxic green nail polish. After taking it she returns the patio chair and the box to their spots.

"Well the only people that would be able to see the box are ones that can fly, and chances are if they can fly they can just phase through the walls."

"Mmm, I guess you're right, but someone could just watch you get it." She fiddles with the lock. "My parents refused to have spare keys hidden anywhere ever. They made my brother sit out in the snow for two hours because he forgot his keys and they were at dinner in the next town over. It's just too unsafe for them."

"Yeah well, I'm not too concerned. People in this town aren't exactly perceptive. Plus, we have our own security system anyways. Lots of guns and alarms and stuff."

Star stops after she unlocks the door. "Um… should I be worried?" She releases the doorknob.

"Nope! I brought down the security system wirelessly earlier. I'll get you on the clearance list though, in case this becomes a regular thing." He pauses. "Unless- I mean… if you ever want to ghost stuff again. It's up to you how involved you want to be."

Star relaxes, smiling into the phone. "I'll let you know if it starts to kill me."

"Preferably before that _please_."

She laughs and walks inside, glancing around and bracing herself a bit for an alarm, but nothing comes. She shuts and locks the door behind her.

"Okay, so what did you want me to do?" She turns her wrist up to check the time on her watch.

Almost 3:45. Her parents weren't getting home for another hour, but if she could stop at the Nasty Burger to visit Pauly that would be nice.

"Alright, so in the kitchen- where we talked with Vlad? There's a door, that's the basement. Um…"

She hears papers shuffling around before he continues.

"I'm going to send you a photo of something I need you to look for, it shouldn't be that hard to find- I don't think… probably?"

"You sound real sure about that." She reorients herself and looks around, faintly remembering the layout of the home. She walks through the open doorway to the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm gonna send you a photo here, they're blueprints. What you're looking for is the _Fenton-Phantom Tracker._ _Super_ ironic name, by the way."

Star's phone buzzes and she receives a photo. She turns on speaker and descends the stairs as she opens it.

The drawing made it look like a weird combination of a smartphone and a remote- or maybe just a smartphone attached to a remote. It was oddly long and sported a number of dials and buttons that probably had some meaning to anyone that understood the thing.

"Got it." She flips on the light at the bottom of the stairs and the fluorescents buzz as they flicker to life. The lab looks exactly as Star would expect a lab to look, stainless steel wall paneling and lab tables, white linoleum tiling, a plethora of beakers and complicated machinery that she couldn't possibly guess the purpose of. Different cabinets and glass refrigerators hold rows upon rows of vials containing various brightly colored liquids, a number of them the distinctive toxic green of ectoplasm.

Then, on the rightmost wall, the portal. Well, likely. She's never seen it before, but the large blast doors with black and yellow DANGER paint make it pretty obvious. A red light gleams ominously over it, _hopefully_ just conveying it's locked status. Connected to the portal are various tubes and wires that lead over to the computer systems that probably control it, and a set of meters and dials subtly fluctuate and pulse with ectoplasm and electricity.

On the left side of the room, the impression changes from a medical lab to an engineering lab. Weapons as small as pistols and as large as miniguns adorn the wall, and half-finished machinery scatters the tables and floor. On the same wall the stairs are on, a rack of expensive and dangerous-looking tools hangs. Some sort of large steel vault lies opposite the portal, too. While the tables and shelves are littered with parts and wires, there seems to be a distinct organizational pattern within each workstation, making it seem much more put together than you'd expect. Method to the madness, as they say.

The space in its entirety is huge, looking as if it spans the entire plot and then some. She absentmindedly wonders how much these expansions cost… or if they even got the permits for it.

"Wow, it really looks like a proper lab." She says, not really to anyone in particular.

"Yeah, well… try not to uh, press any buttons or drop anything. I know from experience that some of them can _literally_ kill you." He laughs, but it drops off on a nervous tone.

"Duly noted."

Star takes one last look around the room and then heads over towards the engineering half, scanning the tables and glancing down at the photo to find the right thing.

"So," Star mentions. "I finished the documents Tucker sent me. They were actually pretty interesting, minus all the graphs and charts and stuff. I couldn't follow them very well."

"Oh yeah? Good, good. We've run… a _lot_ of tests over the years- um, all non-invasive and on _willing_ subjects by the way. It was originally Tucker's idea, and then Sam and Jazz helped convince me. Something about 'understanding through science' or… whatever. And also proving that you can get better info by _not_ putting ghosts in cages."

"Well, it makes sense to me. It also probably be used to help ghosts, too. Just like human research." Star carefully lifts up some papers and blueprints during her search, avoiding touching any unfinished parts or tech. "Who wrote it all, anyway?"

"Well, Vlad wrote out most of the graphs and statistics- he's been doing this a lot longer than us. Jazz and Tucker- mostly Jazz- typed it out into plain English."

She checks on the bottom shelves of some of the lab tables. "That's what I kinda guessed. Sam doesn't seem like the… research type."

"No, not really. She helps in other ways though, she's the best with the weapons and the thermos, and then also um… she helps us a lot financially." A pause. "Don't tell her I told you that though."

She chuckles. "Don't worry, lips are sealed. I would have thought that you're the best shot though, I mean you're a _walking_ ectogun."

"You'd think, but I'm used to shooting things out of my hands, not out of a bulky thing like a gun. It just feels so… _unnatural_."

She can hear Danny shudder over the phone, and she grins. "Fair, I guess, but the thermos? You should be using that thing the most."

"Well- I, at short distance! I don't get target practice with it or anything. Sam can do it at long distance super well, she's had the most practice feeling out its range. I've usually grappled the ghost before I suck them in. That like, divides the experience gained by ten."

Star starts looking through cabinets and in drawers. She's having a hard time believing this tracker is even here.

"Right, excuses, excuses. Sounds like you need more practice then."

Danny mumbles something on the other line, and then waits for a little bit, the sound of Star's rummaging the only thing heard.

"Hey, uh-" Star pauses. "I've started to read that extra packet you gave me. It's- I enjoy it. Like reading a medical textbook, kinda."

"Really?" Danny sounds legitimately surprised by this. "You don't- no, that's good." A pause. "Uh, you haven't taken any notes or anything, right?"

"Oh no, course not. I can see why you and Mr. Masters would want the information destroyed, there's a lot of stuff in there that could get you guys captured or put under suspicion. I'm sure you're not even wanting it to exist." She starts to look through the glass cabinets and drawers on the other side of the room.

Danny doesn't respond for a few seconds, and Star pauses her search, checking her phone to make sure she didn't lose connection.

"Danny-"

"That's… not really why it needs to be destroyed." He interrupts.

She blinks. "It's not?"

"No…" he sighs. "Star, that packet contains a lot of information that a _lot_ of people would want to get their hands on."

"Yeah, to catch you- to know half-ghosts are a thing, right?"

"No, not… not exactly. Vlad and I, we're- we're dangerous people. Ghosts. Dangerous… ghosts. There's a reason I don't use my wail in the city, because it can level _blocks_. Like you said, we're- I'm… a walking weapon."

Another pause, and Star looks through the cabinet in front of her, the ectoplasm swirling in its vials. Then, the gravity of the situation sinks into her.

"People might… they could-"

"They could create- make the things out of comic books and movies. Super Soldiers- in lack of a less cliche term. It's bigger than Vlad and I. Way bigger."

She looks at the floor, then turns around to see the countless weapons on the wall. "Then why don't you just destroy it? All of it? Keep the knowledge to yourself?"

A sigh. "Vlad brought up a lot of reasons. Something about a bargaining chip for our lives, others lives, having the chance for the right people to reproduce us if the need arises, and then the research itself is just valuable. It's the same reason the government keeps and releases records on their immoral testing, having that information is powerful, even if it's not necessarily good.

"There's also a more- for me at least, a selfish thing. It's um… hard to be one of the only kind of your… species, I guess. Not understanding why and how you work is infuriating, it really is. Keeping stuff like this helps validate that I exist and that I am… alive I guess. Even if it's not the traditional way."

Another pause, and then he laughs. "Sorry, sorry, that's a lot to dump on you all at once. I just… needed to make sure you knew the gravity of the situation."

"No, no, I get it. Definitely get it. And… I can't say I _know_ how you feel about keeping it, because I mean, I can't imagine your situation- But I definitely…" she collects her thoughts, takes a breath.

"I can see how it would be complicated, and I support it. Your decision."

Danny releases a breath he was likely holding and it crackles through the phone. "Thanks, Star. Um… did you- did you find that tracker?"

"Ah, Yeah." She presses her hand to the glass of the cabinet she's looking through. "I think so, but it's in a locked glass cabinet thing."

"Shoot, what type of lock is it?"

"Um, I'm not sure." At least, it wasn't anything that Star could recognize. It was a black and red keypad with both letters and numbers- like the type you'd find on a flip phone. It looked like it also had a fingerprint reader, but she couldn't be sure. Looking at the sides, it had the word 'XISECR' written on it. Probably the brand.

"It's a fancy keypad with I think a fingerprint scanner on it?"

"... does it have the word Fenton on it?" Danny asks.

"No, ha. Some other brand. X-I-S-E-C-R. I've never heard of it."

"Crap. And it's in a glass cabinet? On the portal side?"

"Yeah, the middle one. With a bunch of ectoplasm too."

He groans and Star looks back at the cabinet. It has a few other things in it too, little circuit board things and other bottles of glowing… stuff. It's strange that it's just behind glass though.

"Couldn't someone just bust it? It's glass." She taps at it.

"Yeah well, the glass is phase-proof and blast-proof, probably. And the fact that they actually bought a _real_ security system for it is annoying, Tucker can get by my parents' stuff easy, but this… this might be a problem."

Star checks out the tracker again, it doesn't really look finished completely, a few stray wires still stick out and the face of it looks like it can be lifted off to access the hardware within.

"What's so important about the tracker? Does it track... Phantom?" It seems weird to talk about Danny's other persona as if he's a different person, but she mimics what the rest of the team does anyway.

"Yeah, apparently. I heard my parents talking about it and they said it's super sensitive, I'm worried that they'll be able to track _Fenton_ as well as Phantom. It's not unusual for me to trigger their machines, but if the thing's only meant to track Phantom's ectosignature then it might raise some weirder red flags."

"So you still don't want them to find out?" Star asks, she was sure she remembered him saying the opposite.

"No, I- I do. I really do, but I don't really want them to figure out by catching me and strapping me down to a lab table."

"Well, how else would they find out?"

"I-" He sighs. "Hopefully by figuring out that Phantom's a good pers- um, _ghost,_ first. If Phantom ever gets the chance to talk to them without shooting."

"Well, if anything bad happens at least Sam, Tucker, Jazz and I will have your back. If you need to hide out at my place you're welcome to. We've got a spare room from my brother being gone, and my parents are rarely home."

"Thanks. That's-" another pause. "Actually a really good idea. They'll look at Sam and Tuck's first…" he trails off.

"No problem, it's the least I can do. I enjoy helping you guys, I really do."

"Don't do it just because you feel like you-"

"Danny," she interrupts. "I'm doing it because I _choose_ to. It's helping people, doing good. How could I not? I'm sure you understand that feeling."

He goes silent for a second. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

"Like I said, no problem!" She looks back up at the cabinet. "Now, what about this lock?"

"Well, hm, I think you should take a photo of that and send it to Tuck. Take a few. He'll know how to get through it if he can."

"Get through it?"

"Uh, hack it, bypass it. That's his thing, the tech."

Star thinks for a moment. "Actually, that makes sense."

"Doesn't it? Nobody's ever surprised. So! After you do that I'm not sure if there's anything else. I was hoping it wasn't locked away…"

Star finishes snapping her photos and places a hand on her hip. "Well, not much we can do now. I'll send these over and then sign off, unless there's anything else you need?"

"No, that was it, thanks. Oh, and you can keep the key if you want, I'll put another in when I get back. Sam and Tuck have one too, so it only makes sense."

"Are you sure? I can always come back in-"

"No," he insists. "I'd definitely rather have you have one in case of an emergency. FentonWorks is probably the most secure place against ghosts in the country, even if it's got a ghost portal inside of it."

"If you're really that sure then..." Star pulls the key out of her pocket and glides her finger across the green nail polish decorating its head. She couldn't exactly turn down a safe place in the case of a ghost attack, and going through that fence and using a spare really wasn't very secure, in case she was being followed. "I'll head out then, I'll text Tucker as soon as I get home."

"Sure, and thanks again Star, I appreciate it."

"And _again_ , no problem. See ya."

"See ya!"

She hangs up the phone and turns off the lights before ascending the stairs, taking one last quiet look around the ground floor before heading out the front door to the chilly fall air. She pulls up the hood on the hiking jacket Paulina gave her and relocks the door behind her.

As she crosses the street to head back to her car, she wonders if her parents have gotten home early this time.

Maybe they can all go out to eat, too.

Star quietly laughs to herself. She could hope.


	22. 18: Locked

" _Commander, receiving transmission."_

"Oh hey, I got a text from Star."

Sam looks over her book at Tucker and rolls her eyes. "Oh yeah, _Commander_?" She says sarcastically. "What is it?"

"Hey, that text tone is cool as hell! Trimmed it out of an old sci-fi movie." He opens his phone and scans through the images.

"Sure, that's why you keep it on vibrate at literally every public place. What's the text?"

He hums. "Looks like she wasn't able to get the tracker-"

"Really _._ Didn't expect that." Sam flips a page in her book.

" _Because_ it's behind a new security system." He turns his phone towards her, showing the images. "Top of the line too, made by a former military contractor. If we want that tech, it's going to be a whole deal."

Sam takes a longer look at the images. "Dang, they must be pretty cautious to use a security system that's not their own." She looks back up at Tucker. "Can you crack it?"

Tucker resumes scrolling through his phone. "I don't know, I'll have to ask for help, but I don't even know what model this is. This company uses the same exterior model for every one of their systems, so it's hard to figure out which series and gen it is without getting into the hardware."

"English, please?"

He waves his hand in the air. "It's- all of their security systems look the same, so I don't know which ' _hacking style'_ to use." He sets his phone facedown. "It could be a new model, it could be one from 3 years ago- _or_ it could be one that shocks you if you touch it, I don't know."

Sam huffs and lies her book on her stomach, sinking further into the bean bag chair she sits in. "That sucks. We'll probably have to wait until Danny's back to get ahold of the tracker then. Hopefully, that won't be too late."

"That'll probably be the case. I'll see what my online buddies think of this thing anyways, maybe they'll have a solution." He tosses his phone beside him and opens his book. "For now all we can do is scour through all these freaking books."

"Hey, at least it's not that bad, they're interesting enough." Sam takes a sip of her tea and continues reading.

They sit in silence for a while, the soft sound of music from one of Sam's records playing in the background gives the room a relaxing feel, but after Tucker reads and re-reads the same sentence in an inability to focus, he gives in to the nagging at the back of his mind.

"Hey, Sam, what do you have against Star, anyway?"

Sam rolls her head back and stares at the ceiling. "Ugh, I knew you were going to ask that sooner or later."

"Come on, it's obviously more than your goth nihilistic 'everyone sucks' vibe at this point." He raises an eyebrow. "What's up?"

Sam fidgets a little in her seat. "Well, what do you want me to say? I don't think we should just trust her that easily. Last year she was using you like a pack mule and calling Danny a loser. Now suddenly she's taken a 180?"

Tucker rests his head on his fist. "Well, near-death experiences do that to you, I mean look at Danny-"

"Tucker, you _know_ what I mean."

Tucker groans. "I mean, yeah... I do. I get it, but I trust Danny on this one, especially due to the fact that he was literally inside of her mind for like two days. Not everyone's like Vlad and out to get people. Some just make mistakes."

"Ugh- I- I _know_ she's not like Vlad, she's not nearly that bad-"

"You're talking about her sometimes like she is."

Sam sighs and spins her teacup around on its saucer. "Yeah, I know. It's probably just… it's more personal I guess. Not a fan of the popular girls, or anyone that enables their bullying really." She thinks back to middle school, and even grade school. Star and her troop made her, Danny, and Tucker's lives pretty miserable. It's probably half of why they were so tight-knit, even before the portal incident.

"While I usually don't care about your attitude of 'I don't have to be nice to anyone', I feel like in this situation it would save Danny a lot of stress if we all just got along and went with the flow for once." He looks to his book and scratches the back of his neck. "After all, it does seem like she wants to help. I don't think we should just… dump all of our secrets onto her or anything like that, but she could be another ally."

Sam sighs, thinking it over. "I know you're right, and I think I'll try, but it's- not going to be easy."

"Course it's not, just apologize when you screw up." He suggests, smiling. "Reasonable people understand."

Silence fills the room for a bit, and soon both of them continue their reading in peace.

"Um, thanks, Tuck. I knew I was being… harsh."

"No problem." He replies. "I'll text Star about maybe getting together tomorrow to check out that security system, I'll probably get some insight tonight from online that'll be useful." He holds his chin high. "The great Foley will probably be able to crack it within the hour."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny's phone rings as soon as he gets back from the fish fry his parents brought him to. He ditches his parents (and Jazz) in their cabin's living room and answers.

"Thank god Tuck, you actually called at like, the perfect time."

"Oh really," Tucker chuckles and glances over at Star and Sam, who are sitting at the lab tables beside him. "did I get you out of another ghost argument or something?"

" _No,"_ He replies, whispering through the phone. " _You got me out of karaoke."_

Star perks up. "Aw, but karaoke's fun! There's a nice karaoke pop-up in Chicago that's… um..."

She notices the unamused glares from Tucker and Sam and trails off.

" _Sorry Star, you can probably figure out that none of us are singers."_

"Do you not remember the fiasco that the Ember concert was with Tucker on stage?" Sam jerks a thumb in his direction. "His singing was so bad that it _literally_ canceled out ghost magic."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!"

"I reiterate, _canceled out ghost magic._ "

"You know, I think I do remember that-"

Danny allows them to argue a little more, happy that Tucker and, especially Sam, are getting along with Star well.

(Not that he thought otherwise. They just had to warm up to her is all.)

"So, Danny…" Tucker sighs out. "about that cabinet…"

" _Tuck, I don't like the tone of voice you have there."_

"Well…"

Star leans into the phone. "He can't get through it- not without breaking it at least."

" _Really? Dang it."_

"But-" Tucker counters. "Breaking it- _attacking_ the software forcefully, is an option. I can make it so it won't raise the alarms, but I'm not sure if I'll leave anything behind for them to deduce something." Tucker scratches the back of his neck.

" _So they might know it's been hacked?"_

"I'd give it a… 70% chance of yeah, probably? If not them then the company will, if they bring it over."

A groan comes in through the other line and echoes across the lab.

" _You sure you can't get through it? I don't think we can risk that much, they might figure out that it was a human that's been stealing all of their stuff then."_

"I don't think so. We've been down here for- What… 3 hours now and it isn't looking any better. I even outsourced help too, but they only recommended the breaking idea."

" _Well, maybe I can-"_

A loud noise and muffled speech comes through the other line.

"Danny?" Sam calls. "You good?"

" _Oh god-"_ his voice wavers. _"They're- she's breaking in, they're gonna get me to do karaoke with- ah- no, Jazz!"_

The phone shuffles again and then a more feminine voice can be heard on the line.

" _Hey guys, don't worry about the tracker, we can swipe it from our parents when they work on it at some point- right now Danny has to join in the sibling pain of embarrassing parents, so he has to go."_

" _Wait Jazz, this is important-"_

" _We'll talk to you guys later, see ya!"_

" _Nooo!"_

The phone abruptly hangs up, and the three of them stare at it before laughing at Danny's expense.

"Well, at least we know he's safe and sound." Sam says.

"Yeah…" Tucker mentions "Dang, well I guess we'll just be done then, there isn't much else we can do. Shutting down the software sounds too risky." He begins to pack up his things. "While it sounds like something we should be worried about, it _is_ just a tracker, and these things usually ping on Danny anyway. Hopefully, it should just look like another bug."

"Hopefully…" Star ponders for a moment. "You guys deal with some… pretty risky stuff don't you?"

Sam shrugs and helps clean up as well. "Yeah, but it really isn't anything that Amity doesn't experience on the daily. A ghost attacks, Phantom comes and saves the day, etcetera." She lifts an unfinished ectogun into the air and smirks. "The only difference is, we shoot back."

Star chuckles. "Does that make you more, or less safe?"

Tucker and Sam exchange a look, and then shrug again.

She shakes her head. "You guys are so nonchalant about it, it's crazy." She stands up and picks up her backpack, stuffing her notebook and her laptop back into it.

She catches a glimpse of the Halfa packet and hastily zips it up.

"Well, we kind of have to be. If you start to think about it too long…" Sam gazes oddly out at nothing, and then smiles back at Star. "It's just… it helps to laugh at it. Lessens the stress."

"That's life!" Tucker shrugs his own giant backpack on. She can hear the clacking of all of his tech as he shifts it to lie comfortably against his back. "Or death, I- I guess."

Tucker and Sam both space out again and Star pauses, following their gaze to the portal.

She takes a risk. "You know, um… Danny told me a little about what happened to him. How he… um… you know."

"Yeah." Sam says solemnly.

"He- he said you were there. And it happened in here." She glances around the room again, at the machinery and technology that- seen in this context, make it feel much more dangerous.

She supposes that this feeling makes more sense. They are weapons, after all.

Tucker slides off his backpack, letting it hit the ground with a quiet thump. He walks around the table and leans against it to face the portal.

He jerks his chin towards it. "It was right here. We convinced him to go inside and check it out- it wasn't working at the time so we thought it was safe. It _did_ look pretty cool, after all."

At this, Sam walks over to the portal's controls and presses some buttons, opening the blast doors to reveal the swirling green mass that serves as the entrance to the ghost zone.

It was strange to look at, it looked like a bottomless pool of viscous green liquid tipped on its side, the contents defying gravity. Looking directly into it gave Star a strange sense of vertigo, like she could fall into it at any moment.

"Couldn't ghosts come through, opening it?" She asks.

Sam shakes her head. "Not really, most ghosts use natural portals more than anything now. Amity's always been a hotspot for the supernatural, but once the portal turned on it let loose a bunch of ectoplasm into our world, enough to give the natural portals more stability and consistency." She crosses her arms and leans against the wall. "In the beginning, when there were a lot of ghosts, they were coming through this because there was no lock or anything, but now they've learned there are other ways, more difficult to get through, but less risky. After all, they _could_ find either two ghost hunters or Danny Phantom on this side, and that doesn't sound pleasant."

"That portal though," Tucker mentions. "that's where he died. How he died. It was…" he rubs his arms, as if he got a chill. "our fault. He accidentally turned it on, but we told him to go in."

"In…? inside it?" She pales. "Electrocution…"

"Yeah." Sam says. "We took a look at the portal's blueprints and notes a few months after it happened. It was supposed to- how it worked was that it provided a huge surge of electricity, like a lightning strike, and then it provided ectoplasm for the portal to take shape with. Lightning and storms are seen as triggers for supernatural activity, so they tried to test that concept. Pretty simple, at least in theory.

"Well," Sam continues. "Seems they were right. That's how some natural portals form anyways. So that cavity became filled with active ectoplasm, and the surge ripped a hole for the portal- but…"

"They didn't think it would kill their kid." Tucker adds. "Danny was inside, and the same happened to him. Filled with ectoplasm and shocked. The good thing was, his spirit was so dang driven that instead of just dying, he half-turned into a ghost, and the ectoplasm kept his body alive."

"Did it… was he hurt?" Star asks, tearing her eyes away from the portal and looking at Danny's two friends. Their eyes were downcast, tired. Regretful. Sam was hugging herself now.

"He won't tell us. All we know is that we saw a huge flash and the whole room got hot. He… he was screaming. A lot. And then it stopped. The white flash turned into the green swirling pool." Sam presses a button, and the portal doors quietly slide shut.

"We thought he was dead." Tucker continues. "And then he stumbled out of the portal looking like a glowing old man." He laughs.

"Phantom." Star says.

"Yeah, only we were really freaked out. We thought we had killed Danny and he came back to haunt us. Everyone was crying, Danny was confused, we pushed him over by the computer monitor to look at his reflection, and then he freaked out even more. _He_ thought he was dead, too.

"But then he changed back. It felt like a dream, and he ran upstairs to look in a proper mirror and sure enough, he looked exactly like the old Danny. It took us a long time to figure out what happened. Figure out about ghosts at all.

"But it all worked out!" He finishes. "If Danny wasn't in there when it turned on then there would be nobody to stop ghosts like Pariah Dark and Vlad and Overgrowth. We would be screwed."

Star furrows her brow. "Yeah but _he's_ the one that turned it on."

Sam scoffs at that. "Listen, Danny's parents may be kind of clueless sometimes, but they _are_ genius inventors. They, probably his mom, would have figured out how to fix the portal eventually. Danny likes to beat himself up for turning on the portal in the first place, but it was really only a matter of time."

"Well… then when did he develop- um… an obsession?" Star asks. "I know you're not supposed to ask ghosts about them, I read all the files you sent me, so I thought asking someone else might be better."

"Oh, you can ask Danny about that." Tucker says. "He only gets irritated when we tease him about it. He's way more human than ghost, he's only been part ghost for like, 2 or 3 years now."

"Also, that's not our thing to tell. We've told our side of the story, it's his job to tell his."

"I'm honestly surprised you told her this much, Sam." He gives her a knowing, yet appreciative look.

"Yeah, well." She tilts her head. "If Danny trusts her then I'm willing to give it a shot. Just try to lay off of the bullying and stuff- oh, and one other thing." Sam's eyes darken and she stalks up to Star, who takes a step back into the lab table. "I'll give you the same warning that I did Plasmius. If you harm one hair on his head, this truce is over, and don't think we won't come after you for it." She jabs a finger at Star's chest. "Danny might be surprisingly anti-violence, but I don't have anywhere near those reservations."

Star clenches the table behind her, swallows, and leans in towards Sam.

"I'm not afraid of you."

Sam scowls and grits her teeth, about to go off on a tirade before Sar holds up a hand to stop her.

" _because,_ I wouldn't do anything to be on the wrong side of you."

Sam squints at Star before backing off and crossing her arms.

"Danny saved my life too, and I want to help people. I admit I was more concerned about popularity than anything for a long time, but as you grow up…" Star relaxes a bit. "It really isn't everything. Not even close to it. Seeing you guys, how close you are, it made me want that instead."

Sam backs off, and Star looks her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, for what I did. I really am. I'm ready to grow up."

The two stare at each other for a little bit before Sam runs a hand through her hair and looks away.

"Ahh, it's not like you needed to apologize or anything…" They both smile. "But thanks."

Tucker looks at the exchange fondly and pulls his backpack on once again.

"Hey, it's only like 7 o'clock, you guys up for some Nasty Burger?"

Star thinks for a moment. "I am hungry, but I actually know of a really good vegan place over by the Elmerton mall." She throws a knowing glance over to Sam. "Want to check it out?"

Sam's eyes widen and she breaks into a big smile. "Oh _hell_ yeah! Let's go!"

"What? Vegan? Aw man, what the heck is a meat connoisseur gonna get there?"

Star laughs and starts to head outside. "Don't worry, we can stop at the food court nearby and grab you something too, they aren't super strict about bringing other food in or anything."

Tucker's smile grows to match Sam's "Aw yeah, they've got a Panda Express! Now, who's driving?"

TTTTTTTTTTTT

Star returns home that night in fairly good spirits. As soon as she opens her front door she cheerfully calls out to her parents.

"Mom, Dad, I'm back!"

She hangs her jacket up in the hall closet and drops her keys in the dish. She can hear the television running in the living room, so she heads that direction.

"Hi girlie, you're home this early already?" Her dad checks his watch as he meanders around the couch to give Star a hug.

She hugs him back and looks at her mom quizzically. "Why, what time is it?"

Her mom opens the menu on the TV. "Only around 9, and on a Friday, too. I'm impressed."

"You say that like it's an achievement." Star deadpans

"Well-"

"I'm more surprised about you two being up this late, honestly." She glances between them. "You're usually in bed by 8."

Her mom raises an eyebrow "Honey, we aren't getting _that_ old-"

"Plus!" Her dad cuts in. "There's a Marvel marathon this weekend, and we don't have anything to do tomorrow."

"Your father is _very_ excited, to say the least. He saw the first Iron Man in theatres." She passes him the remote as he sits beside her. "Wanna stay up?" She asks.

"Tempting," Star remarks. "But I've got some reading to finish up, so I'll be turning in early."

"Whaat? But it's only Friday!" Her dad complains.

"Yeah, and I've got a game tomorrow and some other plans."

Her dad attempts to complain some more, but her mom stops him. "Well," she says, "get a good night's sleep then honey, we'll come to your game tomorrow too, it's been a long time since we've seen you cheer."

"Really? That would be great!" Star leans over the back of the couch to give her parents a semi-awkward hug. "It's at 5 o'clock, but I'm leaving a few hours early to get lunch and go through our routine."

"Alright honey, have a nice night. There's leftover casserole and cornbread in the fridge if you need a midnight snack."

"I might take you up on that, goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

Star ascends the steps to her bedroom happily, her parents haven't seen her cheer in ages, so she was really looking forward to it. She opens her door and plops her backpack on her desk before quickly changing into some pajamas and switching the settings on her ghost shield to cover her entire room. She digs through her backpack and removes her 'reading'.

The packet is more smoothed out now, the importance of its contents settled right after she spoke to Danny on the phone. She looks at the haphazard creases and folds on its sheets caused by her careless treatment of it before with a pang of guilt.

She laughs at the silliness of it, but the inanimate object in front of her does have meaning. She figures it's become more of a symbol to her than anything. She moves over to her bed and rests her back on the headboard.

She skims through the bulk of the packet to refresh her memory before moving on to the additional notes section. While the majority of the points before have graphs and statistics beside them to illustrate their points, these have few to none. Observed, but not tested. Maybe they can't be tested.

She begins to read once again, but this time with renewed interest.

Other notable features.

\- A Halfa's body temperature is largely dependent on their core type.

\- If their core is dormant or not a variant that produces heat or cold, the body will adopt a temperature typical of neutral ectoplasm, which is marginally below average human body temperature.

Star tries to think back to the last time she and Danny have touched, which was probably during the weekend she was attacked. She doesn't remember anything particularly unusual about his temperature, but she had a _lot_ more on her mind at the time.

She idly wonders if anything she remembers during that time is actually credible. Her emotions were a mess, that's for sure.

\- A Halfa's blood in human form is slightly thicker than standard human blood, but their ectoplasmic blood is much more viscous, as a ghost's.

\- When a Halfa is injured, it's generally safer for them to remain or switch to ghost form to reduce the amount of blood loss, although ectoplasm does not clot as human blood does. This leads to other challenges, however.

\- The ectoplasm in a Halfa's system seemingly supercharges the natural healing of their human system, leading to their healing factor to be faster than both humans and full ghosts.

\- The specifics of this healing is not yet known, but its speed heavily relies on the ectoplasm produced and maintained by their core. Their repair process is thought to be fundamentally different from a ghost's.

 _And it can apparently apply that healing to an overshadowed subject, too._ She supplies. She contemplates how that might work, but doesn't have the foggiest idea. Sounds like something to ask Danny about.

\- A Halfa's heart is non-functioning. While the core typically exists in a similar spot as the heart, it does not work in tandem with it.

\- Occasionally, something similar to a 'heartbeat' can be detected or faked, but any activity is done by the core. In addition, the core can act subconsciously to protect itself (not necessarily the body) during duress, manipulating visibility, tangibility, flight, and other basic powers.

 _Danny… doesn't have a heartbeat._

Star thinks back to the heartbeat monitors they occasionally wear in gym, and even the basic physical they go through before immunizations. How would he hide something like that? How many precautions, contingencies, plans, backups, how many did he need?

Star doesn't think she could ever handle that type of stress in her life, constantly planning ahead and looking over your shoulder at the same time.

\- A Halfa's abilities seem to be stronger and have more variety than the average ghost, but otherwise, their traits are similar.

\- This could be because of the large amounts of ectoplasm or electricity used in their rebirth, but this is pure speculation.

Anyone in Amity could probably tell you that Danny Phantom was the strongest ghosts around.

Well, at least, he beat all the others that showed up.

\- Unlike a ghost, a Halfa retains all memories of their lifetime and death and also keeps their personality traits from when they were human.

Everything must've been so confusing in the beginning. If this started when the ghosts did then that would be… sometime in early high school. How he managed to hide it she'd never know.

\- A Halfa, like a ghost, can easily absorb ectoplasm through various means.

\- This includes exposing active ectoplasm to the bloodstream, absorbing other ghosts, absorbing ambient ectoplasm, feeding an obsession, or feeding on emotions.

\- They can also maintain their human body through normal human consumption, although it seems like the amount to sustain their core is almost double what the average person would eat and without a supply of ectoplasm their core strength would shrink and stagnate at a manageable level. On the other hand, if there's a steady supply of ectoplasmic, emotional, or obsession-gained energy available, human consumption is entirely unneeded, similar to a ghost. However, normal feelings of hunger still persist. It is unknown what long-term effects relying on entirely ghostly energy might cause.

 _Absorbing_ other ghosts… can he just… meld into them? Or is it…

She pushes that thought out of her mind. Whatever it was it didn't have anything to do with her. Feeding on emotions isn't something she thought he could do, it seems like such a strictly ghost thing and not a halfa thing. _Too_ ghostly.

But I guess, what does she know?

\- Halfas have much less control over their cores and emotions than normal ghosts.

\- Their human half's emotions can sometimes feed into the core of their ghost half if they're strong, essentially creating a feedback loop that can be hard to break, especially in younger Halfas. They do have an easier time 'hiding' their core, however, due to the human half they're able to bury it within. While it doesn't suppress the energy flowing through the halfa, it will reduce their aura and ectosignature.

 _That would explain what happened with Autumn_ , she thinks. _I could feel the threatening aura bouncing around the room when he chased her. Hopefully, nobody else noticed that._

She flips the final page and turns the packet over to look back at the strangely empty cover with a new perspective, now that she's familiar with its contents. She leans her head back on the headboard and sighs.

"This is bizarre." She whispers to herself.

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

A few hours pass and Star continues to sit on her bed in silence. Despite her Dad's excitement, both of her parents ended up turning in just shy of 1 AM, and knowing them, they probably fell asleep minutes later.

She looks down at the packet in front of her again, she's reread it so many times she's lost count, memorizing various numbers and values that she feels might be important.

(Not that she had any idea what the important ones would be, really.)

She stands up in bed and takes a look outside. It's overcast, but she can still watch the moon peek through the clouds every once in a while, spilling white light into her backyard.

"Cold" she mumbles, and grabs a sweatshirt from her closet. Throwing it on along with some winter boots, she grabs the packet and quietly wanders out into the hallway, taking a glance towards her parents' bedroom before tiptoeing down the stairs.

Flicking on the lights in the kitchen, she rummages through drawers and cupboards before pulling out a box of matches. She pockets them and quickly disables the security system before opening the back door and taking a step outside.

It's definitely cold, but not as cold as it appeared to be. Star shuffles over to the firepit (which seemed to have been used recently, she's glad her parents are taking a break) and flips through the packet one last time before pulling each individual page from the staple and crumpling them into loose balls, tossing them into the large round bowl.

She gets on her knees to situate the collection into a neat pile and pulls the matches from her jacket. She lights one, and unceremoniously tosses it into the pit, watching it bounce through the cracks and fall to the base of the pile.

The flames quickly engulf the white of the paper, transforming it into a deep charcoal. Star warms her hands by the growing flames and stares up at the night sky, content to wait until every last bit of evidence is wiped away. Eventually, she has to shift the outer edges in, but after a few minutes pass there isn't anything left but ashes and the glowing embers dancing on the half-burnt logs her parents must've added earlier.

She uses a stick to flip over the burning logs, smothering the final seeds of flame under their weight. Once the smoke fades, she drops the stick into the wet grass and shoves her hands into the warm refuge of her pockets. She looks up, taking one last look at the moon before the oncoming clouds leave it as nothing but a glowing haze in the sky.


	23. 19: Cruel (2)

A familiar scene graces the walls of a run-down apartment in an Elmerton complex.

A vaguely human form fades through the wall, the smoke melting to the ground before solidifying into a small girl. She coughs roughly, as before, but only once- as the red mist seeps out of her throat.

Instead of collapsing, she braces herself against the couch, rubbing her sore throat gingerly. She staggers her way over to the refrigerator once she recovers.

The ghost stretches, movement mirrored to the countless other times this scene's been played out.

"Mmmm! Almost done, what a relief."

It stretches out across the couch and arches its back like a cat before turning its attention to the girl rummaging through the tiny kitchen.

She ignores the ghost as she slams the refrigerator door roughly and growls when items can be heard toppling over inside. The ghost watches the actions with dull interest.

"Y'know, I thought you'd be _happy_ that we're almost done. It's much easier with the ghost boy-"

"I _am_ relieved, but I'm _not_ happy that I'm exhausted and starving." She turns to look at it. "It's still my body, it still has _needs_. I can't just exist by- by feeding off souls or whatever you do."

"Ah, sorry about that. Been a while since I've been human. A _long_ while." It mindlessly picks at the pearls built up on the couch from countless years of use

"Yeah well, it's not like I don't tell you or anything, you just refuse to listen." She rubs her eyes and finishes making her meager meal. "Would it kill us to stop at some fast food place like, _once_ a day? Please?"

"Well, it wouldn't kill anyone either way." The ghost gestures vaguely at her. "You aren't losing weight, and your body isn't weakening, you just _feel_ tired and hungry."

She scoffs, gathering up the containers of food. "Yeah, well I _feel_ like shit, which affects my mental state." She opens the fridge and a number of items topple out, causing her to groan.

"I imagine you could get used to it. You'll have to when we go to the ghost zone. I have to check up on some things and we may be there for a while."

"I'll just pack a bag." She picks up the items and returns them to the fridge. "Get a bunch of non-perishables- If you _let me eat_ then I'd "be in a… less bad mood. _"_

The ghost pauses, contemplates, and then nods.

"I apologize." It says. "For not taking your human body's needs into consideration."

Autumn looks at the ghost with an air of suspicion, slowly and quietly closing the fridge. "That's new." She mumbles. "Are you serious?"

"As I said before, I'm not one to lie, and I can't lie to you." It shifts it's tail onto the floor as Autumn takes a seat on the couch.

She takes a bite out of her sandwich. "You don't seem like the type to apologize- or really care. Especially to a human, I know how you feel about them- us."

"Well, ghosts change." It says. "Much less often than people, but they do. I suppose escaping from an eternal banishment would be something to trigger that change."

"You know, you're really dramatic." She takes another bite out of her meal. "Is that something that happens when you become a ghost?"

"Oh _ha-ha."_ It responds. "I'll have you know that, while _dramatic_ , it's exactly what happened."

Autumn chuckles and flips on the tiny tube TV, swapping through channels to find one not riddled with static. They sit in silence for a while, Autumn occasionally dozing off between bites and jerking back awake to the sound of commercial jingles. She looks out the window as a train goes by, noting the colorful sky of the setting sun. It probably hasn't even reached 6pm yet.

"God, I need to stay awake until at least 8 or something." She mumbles and rubs her eyes. "Gonna mess up my whole sleep schedule."

"Don't get too fond of your so-called _sleep schedule,_ we're making house-visits to finish things off tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. At least I can go unconscious when you take over." She gets up to make something more substantial to eat, pulling out pots and pans to make some sort of pasta. She draws back her hair once she gets the water on the stove, and leans on the wall to watch the ghost as it tries to decide between watching her or the television.

"So," she says to break the silence. "You were once human?"

"Hm?" It responds, turning its attention away from the TV. "Well, yes. Most ghosts were at one point. Some ghosts can be created in the zone, but I'm not one of them."

Autumn hesitates. "You know," she chokes out "you haven't really told me much about you. A lot of things about you." Another pause. "Like… how you became a ghost."

"So you're asking about my death?" It says, amused. "Bold, girl. Don't be worried, I'm not extremely sensitive about it. That's a fledgling problem, to be bothered by your own death."

"Uh, thanks. Sorry." She heads back to the kitchen to continue her cooking.

"Anyways, I died sometime near… huh…" it thinks for a moment. "The last year I remember absolutely living in is 1618. I know I lived for some years after that, but I don't recall how many."

"1618… so you've been a ghost for… almost _400_ years?"

"While it might seem old by human standards, it's actually quite young for a ghost. Not _immature_ , but young. Humans have existed for millennia, after all."

"So do you actually… remember living? One of the books I read said that they don't remember their human lives." She pulls various supplies out of cupboards.

"Well, that _is_ a book written by humans about another entity. It's bound to be wrong in some places." It sighs. "But yes, it is _marginally_ correct. I'm a… special case."

"Special in… what way?"

"I'd rather not say." It responds. "You won't be getting my life-story, my death-story, and all of the secrets between in one night."

She glances at it out of the corner of her eye and shrugs. "Fair enough, though you already know everything about me."

"I need to know everything about you to help you. There's no reason for you to know anything of me."

"Except," she says "for me to trust you."

"And that's why I'm telling you this now. This very personal topic for me. For anyone."

Autumn pauses for a moment, then nods, resuming her work.

"I'm sorry. Go on, please."

The ghost looks at her for a bit, then resumes. "I don't remember the year I died, but I remember… how. Bits and pieces, but enough to gather the truth."

It sighs, more as a gesture than a need for air. "I lived in a small town, I think somewhere in Northern Europe but I'm not quite sure. I don't even recall the name. We were well-off, merchants. I had a happy, cushy life. Not many difficulties at all, I don't think. Nothing of note, at least.

"We had heard of war, heard of troops marching across the country to capture villages, we even had some refugees migrate over to us as victims of the struggle. As did any city, we didn't think they would come our way. Some left, heeding the warnings, but some- like us, stayed.

"Those people- the victims, refugees whatever they're called, stuck out to me though. I remember looking at them, their tattered clothes, sickly complexion, and measly possessions. The sight of them is the first vivid memory I have. I suppose since that's when it all started."

Autumn quietly continues preparing her meal, respectfully listening to every word.

"They… came just shy of a week after that. An army, one that could easily take our entire town, lead by some fancy man in gilded armor. I bet he felt as if he was king of the world, marching in on his horse and holding a sword above the heads of unarmed villagers."

It shifts a bit on the couch, flicking its tail back and forth.

"He came through and stated in our broken language, 'Your food, beds, and women belong to us, else be slain where you stand.'- And you complain about my dramatics. Of course, we didn't have a choice but to give them what they wanted, yet they still killed a majority of our people."

It says the last line with a hint of mirth, and Autumn scowls.

"Glass houses." She coldly states.

The ghost scoffs. "Oh, you act as if I'm bitter. I know why they did it now, it's fun. Makes you feel strong, although they weren't _really_ strong, slaughtering defenseless villagers. It's not fun without a fight of some sort."

"Funny, you don't strike me as the fighting type." She sticks a knife into a can of peeled tomatoes and stirs.

"Mental battles are still battles, my darling Autumn."

She rolls her eyes.

"Anyways, they come and go, and I'm still alive. My father didn't make it, however. Killed by attempting to hold onto our storage stock. A fool he was. I remember having to clean up his body and bury him with the help of my eldest brother. Aside from us, the town itself was desolate, left with crumbs to survive with for the rest of the season, they took everything they could from our people and left us with nothing.

"But still, we lived on. Our people began to band together, it even looked as if the little food we had would be able to sustain us for some time. People were still starving, but we didn't have very many dying. At least, until the plague hit.

"The soldiers brought it to us, clearly. It was a horrible thing, your body couldn't contain your own blood, which was almost black from whatever was infecting us, although I'll save you the more gruesome details. People were dying simply standing in line for meals, and soon not a care in the world was given for the living nor the dead. The river was poison, the only thing you could trust was rainwater, and you _couldn't_ trust your own family from stabbing you in the back- literally and figuratively.

"Those few months were absolute hell. I was starving constantly, thirsty constantly, and eventually, I became sick as well. Not nearly as bad as some people, but you could always tell. You knew you weren't going to make it, yet I fought for a long while still, holding on to the shreds of life I had. How stupid I was.

"I died in agony, knowing that a few months ago I was perfectly content, perfectly happy, and knowing _exactly_ who caused my suffering. It was easy enough for me to become a ghost after that. I'd honestly be more surprised if I _didn't_."

"Did… did a lot of people become ghosts from your town then? I'm sure you weren't the only one with such strong feelings."

It waves a hand dismissively. "I never sought them out, so I wouldn't know. All I remember is appearing in the ghost zone and just having this… _need_ to find out what happened to my city and people, and our murderers after I died, so I went back. Found out the guy got promoted to _Captain-General_ after doing that to countless towns across the land. Then, I came back. Not really sure what I was supposed to do then, but that's the long story of my human life! Not as exciting as you'd hoped, I imagine."

"No, no, it was… thanks for telling me, I appreciate it." She stirs the softening pasta slowly, the simmering pot the only sound filling the tiny apartment.

The ghost looks at her with a sly smile.

"You're disappointed."

"I'm not _disappointed._ " She snaps back. "I just thought it would explain more about you than it did."

"Don't be alarmed, I'm not offended. And of course it doesn't explain much. I was alive for maybe, what- 20 years? I've been a ghost for _400,_ There's more to me than my life as a human- more to _any_ ghost then it's life as a human. The ones who've lived 20,000 years ago likely don't even remember being alive. It's not a bad thing, it's natural. Heck, even our little halfa toy- do you think it'd pull people out of a burning building as a human? No, he'd sit and watch, perhaps meander out of the way of the smoke, _perhaps._ "

"Well, it makes sense. _He_ has powers, the ability to help people without risking his life-"

"And you think if he got these powers without becoming ghostly, he'd use them for good?"

She stops stirring her noodles and turns to face the ghost. "What does turning into a ghost have to do with anything? _He,_ not _it_ , is still the same kid."

" _It_ has changed. As I said, your human life has little to no impact on a ghostly one. This is why I refer to myself as _it_ , why I refer to other ghosts as _it_ , ghosts are _not_ and will _never be_ human."

"That doesn't mean you talk about them like- like- an _object_!"

"Why are you so adamant on defending them?"

Autumn pauses and thinks, stuttering out a weak "It's, I'm- ugh, I'm _not_." Before asking herself that question a second time. She turns back to the stove.

Why _did_ she care?

The ghost, sensing her confusion and frustration, stays silent. Whether she answers that question or not is irrelevant, ultimately. Although it was somewhat curious about the answer.

Autumn finishes her cooking and roughly slams the pots into the sink after pouring her bland yet filling meal into a reusable container. She takes the pasta into her bedroom despite the running TV in the living room to get some alone time, at least sitting with a book might calm her down enough to get some sleep before they had to do whatever that ghost was planning next.

She should really be more offended about the ghost not giving her at least a basic rundown of it's plan, or its goals, even. It was using her body for such a thing, but it claims to be helping her in the process, and she didn't want to risk losing the best chance she's got to achieve her own goal.

She pulls a worn out book from the stack beside her bed, careful to not topple over the rest of them precariously balanced on top. Failing at that, she rolls her eyes and opens the cracked, leather-bound tome to a marked page.

She couldn't understand a lick of what was written, but the illustrations combined with some interesting forms of Latin for ingredient names were more than enough to get her by. She studies the glyphs she'd analyzed countless times before and furrows her brow, turning to pull out another, smaller book from the pile next to her.

She opens the handmade journal and gently flips through to find a similar glyph drawn on one of the last pages in faded ink, this one clearly less archival than the book it sits beside. She drags a finger along the messy, yet legible notes scrawled in fluent Finnish, mouthing and translating the words as easily as breathing.

" _Basic glyph of summoning, perhaps used once to beckon an ancient spirit, repurposed to target one specifically, whoever they might be- currently unknown. Family member?"_

She swaps her attention to the ghostspeak tome and flips a few pages to find a collection of glyphs with notes beside each one that seems to describe their differences.

Or at least, that's what she imagines is written, not knowing the language.

She sighs and sets down the book, beginning to eat. She _did_ have someone that could read ghostspeak, or she assumed they could, feet away, yet asking seemed like giving up in some strange way. She also didn't trust the ghost whatsoever, despite how much it's been opening up lately.

(She really couldn't decide whether to call the ghost an it or a they anymore. While it _asked_ to be called it, the whole notion goes against some sort of… value she didn't know she had until now.)

She closes the books and sets them next to her bed, content with doing more of her own research once she got any sort of free time. Asking the ghost was a safety net, something she could do as a last ditch effort if she really couldn't figure out anything else on her own. Right now there were still more avenues to travel, so she'll wait on that option at least for a little bit.

She picks up another book and eats for a while, easily becoming distracted by the television's sound through the thin walls of the apartment. She doesn't hear the ghost moving around or messing with her stuff as it usually does when it gets bored, but it definitely didn't leave- she could still feel its presence.

It's almost like the buzz you get in the back of your mind when someone's standing right behind you. Whether that's a ghostly trait or proof of their mental link she couldn't say, but it made her gut squirm. A constant reminder that the path she took may have not been the right one, however good it may have seemed at the time.

She feels the presence shift, moving around the apartment and to her bedroom door. The ghost sticks its head through and looks at her, entering the room completely when she acknowledges it.

"Good evening, ah- I can take your bowl if you're done."

It floats over and picks her dishes up from the floor beside her mattress, lingering only enough to notice the fallen stack of books.

"You don't have to coddle me, you know," Autumn mentions, purposefully pulling its attention away from the pile. "I'm able to be alone for some time."

"I'm aware." It responds, directing its attention at her. "But I could feel your distress from the other room, I thought you might prefer the distraction."

"Define _'distress'_?" She asks in a sour tone.

It shrugs. "At first frustration, irritation, anger- mostly directed at me mind you, but it eventually transitioned into loneliness." It pauses. "So I thought I'd see if I could help."

Autumn looks at the ghost suspiciously and it begins to leave, carrying the bowl with it.

"Wait." She says, and it freezes in mid-air. "Stay- or, um… come back. After you put that away."

"Are you sure?" It asks, likely being able to sense her hesitation in the statement. "I can stay in the other room if you like."

"No, it's… fine. Do you like reading?"

"I haven't read a book in decades, but I recall enjoying it at one time." It wanders out of the bedroom to stack the dish next to the sink, returning quickly. "What genres do you have?"

"Here-" She pulls out a number mythology and history books from the pile, notably leaving _out_ any ghost-related ones. "I think I have a few that might interest you."


	24. 20: Sustain

" _Jazz…? Um… are you awake?"_

A hushed voice grabs Jazz's attention, and she half wonders if she's still dreaming, or if someone really _is_ calling for her. She shifts a bit to get her bearings.

" _Jazz, it's Danny."_

Nope, definitely not a dream. She turns her head towards the voice.

"Mmmm?"

" _Can we chat for a bit?"_

Weary teal eyes blink open to see her little brother leaning over the side of Jazz's bed. She raises up onto her elbows and checks the hotel alarm clock, which reads 1:37 AM.

"Yeah, course. You okay?"

Danny's tense posture softens, and Jazz shifts over to allow Danny room to sit on the bed with her. They both lean against the headboard, and Jazz contemplates turning on the light. She looks out the window and figures that the moonlight is enough for the both of them.

Plus, Danny could probably see fine anyways.

"I'm… yeah, kinda. Um- been better, obviously, but my strength's coming back, so that's good. Ah, _actually,_ well…"

Jazz lets Danny try to work through the thoughts on his own, but she can tell he's reluctant. Even in the dim light of their joint bedroom, she notices that he keeps glancing towards their bedroom door, probably half-assuming that someone's going to burst in any second now. (Despite the fact that he could 100% hear them coming if they were, plus, it's locked.)

Instead of nagging him, she gently tries to nudge him along. Reassure him, make him feel safe.

She chuckles. "You know, Mom and Dad are dead to the world right now, I went into the kitchen to get a snack not too long ago and I could hear Dad's snoring from there." She smiles at him, knowing that he can see it perfectly. "It's just us."

Danny squirms a little, but relaxes and lets his eyes meet his sister's. He takes a breath.

"It's just… I don't think my energy's recovering as fast as it should be."

"Oh?" She says. "Is your core still stressed?"

Danny shakes his head. "No, I don't think it's… anything like that." He pauses again. "I think I don't have enough energy. Not enough ectoplasm to refill my core."

Jazz can already tell where this conversation's heading. He wouldn't be talking to her if it was something easy.

She still hits all the bases, though. "Did you try some ecto-dejecto? Or head outside?"

He nods. "Yeah, I don't think it's enough. I need something… purer. I want to get to the ghost zone, or back to Amity."

"Danny," she scolds. "you know you can't do that. You'd probably spend more energy flying there and back than what you would get, anyway." She _knew_ that Danny knew this, he just didn't want to admit it himself.

"I… I know. I just don't know what to do. It's like the Skulker thing, when I lost my powers? I- uh, yeah."

Jazz remembers those few weeks well, while he hid most things from his friends (and her) Jazz could still tell that he was an emotional wreck. She just didn't know the reason _why_ until after the fact, when he told her the full story regarding his obsession. The next few days they had many a nighttime chat not unlike this one, although some didn't end particularly well.

This time, she's hoping to stop it before it gets that bad.

"Well, I remember Vlad mentioning to get you some… _'provisions'_. Did he follow up on that?"

"I… yeah, he did. I found one of his thermos' in my backpack before I left."

Jazz presses her lips together in a thin line, giving Danny a look that she's sure he didn't want to get. He turns away from her and pulls his knees up to his chest. "I just wish there was a better way."

"I know, little brother." She pulls him closer and gives him a hug, tucking his head into her shoulder. "Nobody's going to make you do anything, but you should consider the possible outcomes."

"Consequences, I should consider the consequences." He mumbles. "My power's stagnating, if I don't do something soon then I won't be able to recover by the time I get back to Amity. And if that ghost comes back… or something else, then…" He groans. "My head hurts."

"So you have thought about it."

"A lot, yeah."

"Mmm. I don't think there's anything I can say that won't demean your feelings or make it sound like I even remotely understand what you're going through." She says, "But what I _can_ say is that I won't think of you any differently, no matter what."

Danny takes a long breath, then leans further into Jazz. "Thanks. I know, but it helps to hear you say it."

Jazz lets him sit there for a while, she can tell that he's enjoying the comfort of having someone close. She starts to get cold, partially due to Danny and partially due to their Dad loving the thermostat at 60, but she just pulls the blankets over their shoulders and powers through it.

"I think I have to do it." Danny says after a while. "The risk of something happening while I'm still worn out is too high. Murphy's Law, you know?"

"Yeah, we've got bad luck with that, don't we?"

"Mhm."

"How were you planning on going about it?"

"Agh." He backs off and resumes leaning against the headboard. "I don't know, maybe just… flying off somewhere over the lake. I don't want to risk Mom and Dad seeing me- or Phantom for that matter, like…" He cringes before he says it. " _absorbing_ another ghost." He rubs his face. "Don't think that'd be good for my track record."

"Your _track record_ is fine," She says bitterly. "it's Mom and Dad that are confused. They're so deep in their so-called 'research' that they don't see what's in front of them. They're amazing engineers, wonderful parents, but terrible scientists."

"C'mon Jazz, you're being a little harsh-"

"I am _not_ being harsh. Their first inclination when coming into contact with a new species? Rip it apart, see how it ticks. That's great for an engineer, but a scientist? That's inhumane and, if we want to ignore the morality of it, wasteful." She huffs and crosses her arms, looking a lot like a fussy child. "Bad scientists." She repeats.

Danny chuckles at her. "Aren't I supposed to be the one venting right now?"

"Yeah, well… I don't know. You know they frustrate me."

"Yeah, yeah." Danny hums, and takes a look at Jazz. She smiles back at him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asks.

Danny thinks for a moment, opens and closes his mouth a few times in indecision.

"I… I don't know. Part of me thinks it would be a good idea and part of me… doesn't want you to see me like that. Doing something like that."

"Like I said before, I won't be judging you either way. I'll be there if you need me, I'll be waiting for you if you don't. It's your decision to make."

"I…" He hesitates. "I think I want you to- um… come with me. It- I don't know how long it'll take me to get back otherwise."

"Okay, sure. When were you planning on- oh." Danny swiftly stands, with the sleek black thermos already in hand.

"Oh, um… yeah, now." He laughs nervously. "Unless you'd want to wait-"

"No, no, now is fine. I just need to get dressed, I'll be right back."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"So, where are we going?"

"Um, I'm not really sure?"

Danny, with Jazz in tow, flew high above their hotel searching for a secluded place to help him. They spun around in a slow circle, each of them looking between the trees for stray campers and people.

"We could just head down to one of the empty campsites." Jazz suggests, pointing out a dark area on the trails."

"Mm, I was hoping there would be a better spot, but we can't really go out on the water unless I'm holding onto you the entire time, and that… probably wouldn't work. Don't think you're interested in taking the Polar Plunge right now."

"Well, I know it's not exactly legal but…" She points to a residential area a bit farther up the lake. "We can see if anyone up there has a boat or a canoe that we could use. It's not like we're not going to bring it back or anything."

"That… doesn't sound like a bad idea. Let's check."

Danny descends and sets Jazz on the beach, telling her that he'll be back with a boat of some kind. She nods and watches his form blur into the distance beneath the treeline. In the meantime, she sits on a rock looking out onto Lake Michigan and thinks.

She was really hoping that this didn't negatively affect Danny too much. She was incredibly worried, and for good reason-

He really hasn't _killed_ anything before. This would undoubtedly be considered killing another ghost, and she didn't know how he was going to handle it.

Well, technically it wouldn't be the first time. Sure, there's been a few times where he's underestimated the strength of an ectoblast, or overestimated the strength of a weak ghost, but it was rarely intentional, and it still left him a mess afterward. Intentionally taking the life of another thing? She doesn't know how he got through it the last time he did it.

Danny appears in Jazz's view with a small canoe with him and gently sets it in the water. Jazz walks over towards him and gives it a quick look-over for holes before he walks her across the water to get in.

The boat wobbles as she steps in. "Oh, I forgot to ask Danny, um- when was the last time you did this?"

"...Canoeing?"

"Danny."

"Oh, the ghost thing. Um…" He thinks for a second, squinting into the moonlight while floating beside the canoe. "A long time. Back when I was spending time with Vlad. He helped me… get through it, mentally, and taught me how to do it a more… um, _appealing_ way. Tried to compare it to eating an animal. Except… it's alive, and kind of cannibalism, I guess. I don't know. He said it wasn't, but I still think it is." He puffs out a quick breath of air. "At least I'm freaking out way less this time. Having Vlad with me was better than being alone, but having _you_ with me really helps. Vlad is strong, resourceful, knows a lot, but he isn't good with emotions."

"Gee, how long did it take you to figure that out?"

"Don't test me, I'll turn the boat intangible."

"The moon is really pretty tonight, isn't it?"

Danny laughs. "It is."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

It takes them only a few minutes to get the boat out a reasonable distance, and the time seems to go by much too quickly for Jazz. She can sense her nervousness (which means Danny might be able to as well, if he's paying attention to her) and mentally scolds herself.

 _Gotta be here for Danny, my brother needs me._ She repeats.

"I- I think we're far enough."

"Okay. Do you want me to… look away? Watch for people?" Jazz asks, tearing her eyes away from the ripples in the water to look at Danny. She shivers and rubs her arms, the air on the lake much cooler than she was expecting.

"Can we- can you just… I'm going to talk through it, I think. I just need you to listen. It helps to um… how did he put it? Dull the emotions I'm having about it."

"Sure." Jazz turns in the canoe so that she's sitting facing the edge, looking at Danny. "How are you going to get it out of the thermos so it doesn't get away?"

He clicks a button on the sleek black container and three red dots show up on the side. "These thermos' are special," he says. "They're made by Vlad, and he made them specifically for this purpose, apparently. They only hold _really_ low-level ghosts, and it's more disorienting to go in and out of them, so the ghosts are basically just floaty balloons for a few minutes after they're released." He pulls off the cap and hands it to Jazz, who places it gently in her lap.

"How low-level is _really_ low-level? Like ectopuses?"

"No, no, even less. They're more like little balls of light than anything else." His hand clutches the thermos tighter, but he doesn't press the release. He swallows.

"Sorry, I'm… nervous."

Jazz smiles reassuringly. "Take your time, we don't need to be anywhere at all. I'm here."

 _And I'm watching for any signs of a breakdown._ She doesn't say. While he does seem to be nervous, he's not hyperventilating or losing control of his powers, so she considers that a good sign.

With a thrumming core, Danny slowly presses the button, with the machine eventually humming up and emitting a red glow from its interior. An amorphous green blob bubbles out, lazily floating through the air before landing gently in Danny's palm. Jazz watches with interest.

"And… this is it."

"That's it?"

"Mhm."

 _It's cute._ Jazz thinks, but she doesn't dare say it aloud. No reason to make Danny feel even more guilty than he likely already is.

"Man, I just had a thought- Sam would be so mad at me if she knew I was doing this."

"Oh, I doubt she'd be mad. It can't be worse than seeing Tucker eat one of those extra-meaty meals from the Nasty Burger."

"Mighty meaty, technically."

"Whatever!"

Danny laughs, then brings his attention back to the task at hand. He stares at the small creature and the smile slips from his face. He sighs, and then quietly whispers.

"Let's do this, I guess."

Danny's fingers tighten around the small blob, which emits a quiet screech in response.

He frowns and whispers a hushed apology before his aura flares, creating a small ripple in the water he sits on. He continues to stare at the small creature, and Jazz can feel an electrical current emanating from her brother.

She suddenly remembers her purpose for being here and quickly asks, "What exactly are you doing right now?" Causing Danny to flick his eyes towards her.

"I'm, um… kind of sucking up its energy. It's like the opposite of an ectoblast, functionally, but _really_ hard to get right. Like… weird overshadowing?"

"Did Vlad show you how? I was expecting… something else."

"Mhm, you know Vlad, always has to do things the prim and proper way. When he saw how most low-level ghosts absorb each other he researched a different way and came across this, which apparently is common for older ghosts if they need to replenish power quickly."

"What do the… lower-level ghosts do?"

Danny raises an eyebrow at her. "I'm sure you can imagine. Think instead of _absorbing_ it's _consuming_. Of course, Vlad could never do that." He rolls his eyes. "It takes a lot more time this way though- since the ghost's spirit is actively fighting back. The other way… you just have to subdue it physically."

"So… you made it sound like you've done it before Vlad talked to you about it, which means-"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He sighs, looking back down to the ghost in his hand that was gradually shrinking and growing dimmer. "That was definitely the worst. And before you tell me that I could have talked to you about it, I know that- _now._ At the time…" He trails off, then shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. All I know is that I have someone that won't… think of me any different now."

The ghost fades even further, and Danny's hand clenches into a fist, the previous resistance nothing more. He places his hand into his lap and breathes in the cool night air deeply.

"And that's it."

Jazz watches him stare out into the distance, trying to read the countless emotions that are swimming behind his eyes. She notices his aura's brighter, his skin color's more vibrant, and his stance is stronger. While _he_ might be still debating on whether this was the right choice, Jazz was sure that it was.

"How do you feel? Physically, I mean."

"Physically? Way better. It feels like my core's been kickstarted. Doesn't really make me _feel_ any better."

"Danny…" Jazz carefully stands up in the canoe, moving to take a step out of it. Danny quickly stands up and grabs her shoulder to extend his flight over to her before she plunges into the frigid water.

"Jeez Jazz, what are you doing?"

"Walking on water, clearly."

Danny sighs and looks at his sister disapprovingly. "You could have warned me."

"I didn't have to, I knew you would help."

"Well duh, I wouldn't have let you fall in- but that doesn't mean you should-"

"I knew you would help-" She interrupts, "Because you're someone that _saves_ people. You just being you has saved the town, and probably the _world_. You staying healthy and- and _alive_ is important… if you don't- if you can't do it for yourself, or for the people you save… do it for me. Do it for Sam, Tucker, Mom and Dad, do it for the people who love you and need you to be here. Who need you to come back from every fight."

She holds him gently by the forearm and smiles. "And if you need me to be here I'll be here, every time. That's what big sisters are for."

Danny returns her smile with a smirk. "That doesn't mean you should risk jumping into frigid water to prove a point. I still make mistakes, too."

"Pff, I can handle a little cold water. Plus, you could just phase it off of me."

They both laugh and then sit cross-legged on the water, getting comfortable and looking at the night sky. It was peaceful, and every once in a while when she would glance over at Danny, she notices his eyes look much more clear. Confident, sure, driven- like they always were, even before going ghost.

After a bit, Jazz tugs at Danny's wrist. "You ready to go back to the hotel?" She asks.

"Um," he replies. "Can I just ask you for one more thing?"

"Whatever you need little brother, I'm here."

"Do you think we can talk for a while longer?"

Jazz smiles softly at Danny's glowing form reflecting off of the lake.

"Of course." She replies.


	25. 21: Guarded

Danny takes a deep breath as he leaves his house to head to school, happy to get back into the swing of things. He hops off of the porch and waves to his parents who are unloading luggage from the trunk. (Nobody was awake enough to do it the night before)

"See ya guys. I'll probably hang out at Tuck's tonight, is that cool?"

His dad waves back from the GAV, throwing him a thumbs up at the end. "No problem Danno, you know your curfew."

His mom also emerges from the RV, carrying the telescope that seems… a little too large for her. She grunts as she shifts the weight properly.

"Make sure to get the homework you missed from your teachers sweetie, and get it in tomorrow if you can."

Danny cringes, remembering how much of a pain that's going to be. "Ugh, I will. Later!" He waves over his shoulder as he jogs down the sidewalk to meet Sam and Tucker on the next block. He can already hear them chatting around the corner from here, and gains a bit of a skip in his step in anticipation of seeing his friends.

"Dude this _sucks_ though, it's so itchy. How are you even dealing?"

"Doesn't feel that bad to me, are you allergic? When my mom gets bitten the bites swell up to like the size of quarters and get all lumpy. She piles on repellent like it's hairspray to keep them off of her."

Danny stops beside them, interrupting their conversation. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Hey man, nothing much. How was your vacation?" They begin to walk towards the school at a slow pace, content to get there right on time..

"Pretty good, actually. The waterpark was better than I expected, and the stars were _awesome._ I'll have to fly you guys up there some weekend to see. We can go out over the lake so it's pitch black too.

"Hey, hey," Tucker spins around to walk backwards in front of Danny. "You were outside a bunch, did you get all eaten up from the mosquitos?"

"Mosquitos?" Danny asks, glancing at Sam.

She shakes her head and pulls him back in place beside her. " _My god_ Tucker, chill with the mosquito bites. I've been hearing you complain about it for the past two days."

"But it _sucks_! I have one on the back of my neck that won't stop itching, and I'm pretty sure I have one on my leg too now."

"Tuck, it's like the middle of October." Danny points out. "All of the bugs should be dead, right?" He looks towards Sam for confirmation, who nods.

Tucker snorts in disapproval. "Probably don't like you cause you smell like ectoplasm." He mumbles.

"Probably, but it's also not bug season." Danny shrugs. "Maybe you've got spiders in your bed."

"Oh no, no no no- don't be saying that dude."

"You know, I bet he's right-" Sam smirks. "Since it's getting cold out now they're all seeking shelter in warm homes and beds."

"Nuh uh, your theory's flawed, why would you be bitten too then? We didn't hang out in my room, we hung out in yours to read all the ghost books- Oh, oh, show him that one that we found!"

"Oh shoot, yeah." Sam stops to pull out a large book from her backpack, handing it to Danny "I completely forgot about this, but remember when Skulker came and messed you up? I brought it to the Nasty Burger but left it at Tucker's place that night. Do you think this could be useful?"

"I remember this now." Danny flips the pages of the book and checks out the cover, struggling to read the ghostspeak written there. "Yeah." He says, "I _can_ read it, but it's tough. If I remember correctly, it was mostly about how ghosts are naturally made, creation myths, stuff like that, but they're really just myths."

"Well, based on what we've there might be a shred of truth to them. Pandora exists, after all."

"Yeah, and so do some of the Greek and Egyptian gods." He hands the book back to Sam. "Don't you have study sometime before Bio?"

She flips her backpack onto her chest to tuck away the book. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, if you're not busy it would be nice if you could scan some pages and send them to me so I can read it during class on my phone and make it accessible to me whenever. I could read during patrols that way too."

"Sure, I finished all my homework this weekend, so I can do that. You should probably be paying attention in class though."

He waves off her comment and they climb the steps of the high school. "Relax, it'll be fine. As long I do the homework my grades will stay up, we still good for studying after school?"

"We can," Tucker says, "But not at my place, my parents are having a dinner party for some work thing. One of yours would be best."

Danny spins the combo for his locker. "If you wanna come to mine we can, I'll just text my parents and let them know- unless Sam's is better."

She shrugs. "Whatever's fine with me, but we can talk more during lunch, we're cutting it close here."

"Alright, alright, remember to send me those scans if you can, if there's a chance we can find out more about this ghost I want us to be on top of it."

"Yep, no problem. See you guys in Bio?"

Danny shuts his locker and leans against it. "We'll see, depending on ghost-activity and all. Oh, and keep an eye out for Autumn too. I doubt she'll be here, but just in case."

TTTTTTTTTTT

As Sam and Tucker make their way to FentonWorks, a flash of light appears in an alleyway beside them. They stop at the opening and look down it disapprovingly.

Danny emerges with a happy look on his face, comforting to confusion when he sees his friends. "What? Ghost sense went off."

Sam smirks, a hint of criticism on her face. "You've never looked so excited to catch a ghost before. You feeling okay?"

"Feeling great! It's uh… good to be back, actually."

"Dude, you missed lunch too," Tucker adds. "and we didn't even see your ghost sense that time."

Danny scoffs. "Well, _obviously_ it went off, uh, it's not like I would just-" his voice cracks. "I wouldn't run off like, in _search_ of ghosts or- or…"

Tucker and Sam give him blank stares.

"Okay, well _maybe_ I've been a little antsy lately, but it keeps people safe! I found a few ghosts wandering at the edges of town, they could still hurt people there too." He walks in front of his friends. "Now c'mon, there's actually some important stuff I found in Sam's book we should check out, but only _after_ homework. I have a decent amount since I was gone a few days and-"

As Danny continues to nervously ramble on, Tucker leans towards Sam and whispers.

"Do you think we should be worried about this?"

"Not sure." She responds. "He seems pretty hyper, but maybe it's just from the trip, let's give it a few days."

"You guys know I can hear you perfectly well, right?"

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"I'm home! I brought people!"

Danny holds the front door open for Sam and Tucker, swinging his backpack off of his shoulder in the meantime. Upon not getting a response, he shuts the door behind him and heads through the kitchen to the basement.

"Mom? Dad?" He calls out. "Did you get my text?"

Silence. His friends approach him from behind.

"Is Jazz gone too?" Sam asks, walking back over to the dinner table and plopping her backpack into a chair.

"No, she usually stays back at the school for after-class appointments and stuff." He slides his backpack off and starts digging through it.

"Maybe they just went shopping?" Tucker considers. "I know your parents aren't usually the type to be mundane and predictable, but I mean, it doesn't always have to be weird and cryptic all the time."

"They probably did, but that means I can dump these guys back in the Zone." He pulls a thermos out of his backpack and eyes the fill-meter on the side. "Gimme a second, I'll be right back."

Danny descends into the basement, using a bit of casual flight to make his way to the portal. He inserts the nozzle of the thermos into a receptacle connected to the side of the whirling vortex and presses a button, causing the container to empty.

Once finished, he pulls the thermos out of the machine and once again floats towards the stairs, but stops in midair- noticing something sitting on one of the lab tables.

"Hey, uh… guys?" He yells. "Mind coming down here? For a sec?"

A pair of footsteps descend the stairs.

"What's up?"

"Oh, dude."

Danny picks up the tracker, turning it over in his palm. "It's smaller than I thought it'd be." He mentions. "Usually their stuff is big and bulky, this is… surprisingly sleek."

"Do we want to steal it?" Sam asks.

"I don't know…" Danny flips the machine on, and a soft beep rings out. "It sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?"

"Well, if it works." Tucker adds. "Is it doing anything?" He peers over Danny's shoulder to get a better look at the small screen.

"It says it's on…" he turns it over again, frowning at the blank screen. He lifts it up into the air at the portal, and still nothing shows.

"Here, let me see." Sam holds her hand out, and Danny gives her the tracker. She fiddles with it, presses some buttons, but eventually raises it up towards Danny.

Her eyebrows raise. "Woah. Yeah, it works." Tucker swings around to look at the screen too, mouth forming into a surprised smile.

"That's so cool- it's a camera! It's-" he flails his hands around. "It's a camera that only shows ectoplasm, and it's surprisingly high-res."

Danny furrows his brow at his friend. "What does it show? I'm not even ghost right now."

"I… don't think that matters." Sam says. She pulls out her phone and takes a photo of the screen, and then hands it to Danny. She starts to scan the rest of the room after that.

Danny's expression falls even more. "Not good." He says.

The screen is pretty much completely black sans… well, him. It's not a perfect outline of him, nor an unidentifiable blob, but rather something that looks like a tangled road map of thin white lines all across his body, converging at a bright blue ball at his center.

"What even is this?" He asks to the room.

"Yeah, looks like it shows liquid ectoplasm, or something." Sam stands in front of one of his mother's refrigerated glass cabinets. "It's getting all the vials, at least of the active stuff." She adds.

"So… is it getting your veins? Or your nerves, that's what it looked like to me. It wasn't like the heat-signature thing we've seen in the past."

Sam approaches Danny again, who holds out his arm for her to scan more closely. She points it at his upper arm so he can see it as well.

"Yeah," her finger follows a visible vein on Danny's skin and compares it to one on the tracker. "It does look like its scanning your veins. That _is_ where your liquid ectoplasm is."

"So wouldn't it be detecting my blood? It should be getting capillaries and stuff then too, right?"

Sam hums. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's-"

A door slams upstairs, causing all three of them to jump. Danny quickly swipes the device out of Sam's hand and pockets it.

"Danny? Are you home?" His mom calls out. "We went shopping, we can make homemade pizzas tonight for you and your friends!"

Danny lunges to grab Sam and Tucker's arms to intangibly pull them up to his bedroom, but his excessive strength pushes Tucker into one of the lab tables before intangibility can spread up his arm, causing a few lab tools to clatter to the ground. Danny cringes.

"Kids? Are you in the lab?" Maddie's soft steps can be heard calmly descending the stairs, and Danny rubs his face wearily.

"Yeah, we're here. Sorry, didn't hear you come in!"

He pulls the device out of his pocket and quietly sets it on the table. Tucker and Sam do their best to look nonchalant while picking up the tools that fell to the floor.

"What are you doing down here? Be careful what you touch, you know it's not the safest place in the world."

"Yeah sorry, we know. Um, I was trying to explain to Tuck what a volumetric flask is used for, we had a lab in Biology and we used them but he was still… confused." He gives Tucker an apologetic smile.

His friend huffs, but goes along with the ruse anyway. "Yeah, um… I wanted to see one actually being used. Danny said you had some."

"Oh of course! We have some in our lab refrigerators, we use them when we need a specific amount of solution at a specific temperature before use." She walks across the lab, and Tucker follows, looking interested and continuing their discussion.

Sam leans over to Danny and whispers. "Nice save. Do you wanna get outta here? You look nervous."

"I feel nervous." He responds, tapping his foot. "Is it that obvious?"

Sam nods. Danny sighs.

Danny's voice raises to a normal volume. "Sorry, Tuck, we're gonna get started on some of the homework I missed while I was gone, you okay with my mom explaining things?"

Tucker spins around and briefly narrows his eyes at them, but forces a smile. "Sure dude, I think I'm getting it now. I'll be up in a bit."

Danny and Sam nod in thanks, and head upstairs.

After another minute or so of Maddie explaining the functions of different flasks, Tucker thinks that it's enough.

"Thanks, Dr. Fenton, that helped a lot. I don't think Danny knew what he was talking about too well." He smiles at the light jab at his friend.

"Well, Danny is a smart boy, but he has trouble putting his mind to words. I'm sure he understood the correct functionality, just not how to convey that knowledge." They begin to walk back to the stairs, but Tucker falters when he sees the scanner sitting where Danny left it.

He takes a chance. "Hey Dr. F, what's this sleek piece of tech?" He points out the small machine and feigns interest.

"Oh, that! A combination of Jack and I's talents. It's a high-sensitivity ectoplasmic detector, complete with a visual feedback display." She turns it on and lifts it up, scanning around the lab and tilting the screen towards Tucker.

"So it's getting all the vials of ectoplasm. What does it show, exactly?"

"Active liquid ectoplasm, whether tangible or intangible. Its functionality is more suited to tracking, we can lock onto an ectosignature and filter it so we can only see that same source, if a ghost was wounded and fled the scene, we could easily pinpoint and follow it using this." She focuses the camera on a large vat of refrigerated ectoplasm and presses a few buttons. The majority of the other samples disappear, but when she swings over to the weapons rack, the guns and blasters light up like a Christmas tree.

"That large batch of ectoplasm is one we've solidified from ambient ghost zone fumes, which is what we primarily use in our weapons, so that ectosignature can be tracked to them."

Tucker holds his chin with his hand. "Huh, then does the portal light up too?" He already knows it doesn't, but not the reasoning why.

"No." Maddie presses a few more buttons on the machine, presumably to disable the tracking functionality. "The portal is-" she spins around once again, but halts her thought once the scanner lands on Tucker. She looks at the screen with confusion. "Huh." She says.

Tucker swallows, hoping he didn't make a _really_ bad mistake. "Um, is there something wrong?"

Maddie presses a few more buttons, the beeps ringing in Tucker's ears. "Strange, you seem to be contaminated."

"Um, contaminated? By what?"

"I'm not sure… contamination shouldn't produce an ectosignature, or be able to be detected by this. Have you been in close contact with any ghosts lately? Or ectoplasm?"

Tucker's skin itches with the lingering feeling of intangibility that spread throughout his body not minutes ago. "No- I… I don't think so." He lies.

"I'll track the source." Maddie says, pressing a few more buttons. "Are you feeling any effects of ecto-contamination? Headaches, nausea, burns, rashes?"

"I-" he mentally checks himself over. "No, not that I can feel- but I don't think it's-"

"There we go." She lifts the device in the air, towards the second floor.

Where Danny is.

"No!" He yells. "I _really, really, really_ don't think it's that big of a deal, you know it's probably just- a ghost attack! We- we had one the other day, and-"

"Well, that would explain why Sam has a signature too, at least I believe that's her."

Tucker reorients himself to look towards the tracker, and breathes a sigh of relief when it only has one, very faint reading of someone holding their hand on their hip and then crossing their arms. Definitely Sam.

"Um… yeah, that is her."

"Hmm, you're sure you're not feeling ill? Here, I'll send some medication for you to take home that should flush your system of ectocontamination." She turns off the tracker and sets it down, heading to one of the large metal cabinets. "It's possibly a bug in the software, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Take these if you're feeling any symptoms, twice a day from-"

Tucker takes the bottle of pills in his hand and tones out the rest of whatever Maddie says, silently recovering from the reveal scare he just had. He mutters a quiet thank you after Maddie finishes talking and ascends the stairs slowly, feeling a huge weight hanging over him.

"Too close man, too, too close."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Sam and Danny sit in his bedroom, quietly helping each other complete homework. In the short few minutes they've been up here Danny has managed to get quite a lot of work done, even though he keeps glancing at the large ghostspeak tone every few seconds.

"Sam, I'm just saying the homework can definitely wait, I've found-"

"Danny you've literally been up here for two minutes. The translation can _also_ wait. Plus, Tucker's still talking to your mom-"

The door opens, and Tucker walks in with a strange, worried look on his face and holding an orange bottle of medication. Sam's and Danny both look at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost." The ghost says. Tucker rolls his eyes.

"Well, your _mom_ almost saw a ghost, thanks to me. Thank god she didn't."

"Wait, what?" Danny asks, immediately alert. "What ghost? Me?"

Tucker nods. "I uh, wanted to see if she could leak any more information about the tracker so I got her to turn it on and explain some things. She passed it over me for a second and saw I was contaminated." He sits down on the bed next to Sam. "I thought it was from you making us intangible from earlier, but luckily it wasn't your ectosignature. She pointed it upstairs and we only saw Sam glowing on the thing, not you. I almost had a heart attack." He sighs and collapses backwards, and Sam shifts her legs to give him space.

"Well, it's good that Danny didn't glow, but why are we contaminated?"

"I have _no_ clue. I don't feel contaminated, but she gave me pills anyways." He holds the bottle up and shakes it.

"The last ghost attack at the school was the Ember one, I think. She _was_ giving off a lot of heat, but shouldn't we be clear by now?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, no, that shouldn't be it. It could still be mine, I did turn you intangible literally minutes before that, so it would make sense if you still had some ectoplasmic energy lingering on you. Why wouldn't it be my ectosignature though?" Danny rests his chin on his hand, thinking.

"Either way," Tucker says, "thank goodness it wasn't. I'm all for you letting your parents know your whole secret whenever you're ready, but I do _not_ wanna be the one spill the beans for you, nuh uh."

Danny groans. "It definitely isn't reassuring knowing that she could tilt up that device and figure out my secret at any moment…" he sighs and drops his face in his book. "Is _anywhere_ safe anymore?"

"We can head to my house instead if that makes you feel any better." Sam suggests. "It's far, but we _could_ just fly, if you're up for it."

"You know," Danny says, "I really like that idea, but I don't want my parents to think something's up. They've already mentioned how I've been acting weird. I mean, they got pizza fixings for us to make them homemade, they obviously expect us to stay."

"I guess let's just hope they don't run in here guns blazing in an hour." Sam jokes. "Your parents are more of the 'shoot first dissect later' type, you know that."

Danny nods. "Yeah, but they're more compassionate than the GIW, at least they'll hesitate when they realize they're pointing a gun at _me_." He looks out the window. "Jazz should also be home soon too, which'll help."

They sit there for a bit, accepting Danny's decision. He quietly spins back around in his chair, resuming his homework.

His two friends exchange a short glance, but eventually do the same.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Alright!" Danny stands up from his desk and stretches. "Finished with homework, and only with one ghost interruption. Now to start translating this beast." He digs through his backpack and hefts the book up onto his desk. He opens it up in the center, looking for a specific page.

"By the way," Sam asks, closing her phone. "why is it so hard to translate? You can speak it perfectly fine, can't you?"

"Well... the thing about ghostspeak is that it doesn't _have_ a written script, not really. Some choose to write in it, like ghostwriter and stuff, but they _invented_ that, and it changes from region to region like normal language. What Freakshow did was write out the sounds of the speech with some writer's script, um… imagine if you wrote out English words phonetically using like, Arabic or Japanese. You would have to know Arabic _and_ English, read each word phonetically in Arabic, and then sound it out to figure out what the English word is supposed to be. Someone must've taught him how to speak it and then he found an alphabet later, somehow. It's all wrong."

Tucker shakes his head and looks to the ceiling. "Wouldn't translating be crazy hard then? For Arabic and English, I'm pretty sure they don't even have the same sounds, so how would it translate if they don't have that sound as a letter?"

"Well, it _is_ hard, that's what I'm saying." Danny flips through a few more pages. "But ghostspeak has more sounds than probably… um, any language I bet. It's got aspects from all of them, so that's not really the problem. The problem is Freakshow not _actually_ knowing what he's doing. Honestly, he should have just wrote a normal book." He grumbles.

"Here, this is what I wanted to show you." Danny steps over to the bed and sets the book between the three of them. "You see how this is a list? There aren't any illustrations, but this is an example of how to summon a ghost- it doesn't have any specifics of things you need, so you can't _actually_ summon someone with this, but…"

"But we know it's possible." Tucker finishes. "You think he used this somehow? To summon a ghost?"

"Wait, hold on a second." Sam lies her hand on the pages of the book. "We don't know how accurate this is at all. It's Freakshow."

"Freakshow's been right about a _lot_ of things Sam. We might've put him in custody of the GIW, but that doesn't mean his information was wrong."

"Well, if we say that this _is_ true, and the girl had a ghostspeak book with summons in it, then she _actually_ might want them there." Sam crosses her arms and leans back on the headboard. "Which means she's at fault, too."

"I really hope that's not the case. And after what she's been through..." Danny sighs. "This could've been avoided."

"Every villain's got a tragic backstory Danny. Don't you read any comics?"

"This isn't a comic Tuck." Danny snaps. "This is real."

"He has a point though. You can't save everyone." Sam adds. "Sometimes it can cause more harm than good to try."

"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna."

Danny shuts the book and goes back to his desk, opening up a new document. "I'm gonna fully translate anything in here having to do with summoning, and then I'm going to translate anything on long-term possession, see if it'll have lasting negative effects on her."

"Do we have a game plan besides that? It seems like they've been laying low." Tucker says. "Although we do have her address, we could take the fight to them."

"I don't know." Danny replies. "This whole thing is messy. I might head over there for more information-gathering this week- forget about being unnoticed, we have to figure out this ghost's motive."

Sam checks her watch and stands up, walking over to Danny and setting a hand on his shoulder.

"We should take a break." She says. "Wanna make some pizzas?"

Danny rips his eyes from the book to look up at her and smiles, taking a deep sigh and leaning back in his computer chair.

"Yeah, I'm starving."


	26. 22: Wes

**A/N: Guest: You're not really missing anything obvious, but the clues are all there, albeit I like to think I've hidden them somewhat well. This chapter might add another aspect to it, if you look closely. ;)**

 **Thank you for the encouraging reviews!**

Danny yawns as he switches his books from Biology to History, slamming his locker after he picks out the right ones. He turns around and begins to walk to his next class, but not before pausing to read a poster taped to the wall.

He pulls it off and looks at it mouth agape, with a series of giggles surrounding him, clearly from amused onlookers. He huffs, dropping his hand to his side and closing his eyes. Footsteps approach from behind him, and he knows exactly who it is.

Danny shakes his head, but refrains from looking at the stalker. "Weston, I swear to god."

Wes circles around to look Danny straight in the eye, who reluctantly stares back. "Morning, Fenton. I believe I got _both_ of your good sides in those photos, so I'll gladly take your thanks."

"No, you didn't get my good side- _sigular._ Phantom looks good though, I'll give you that." He crumples up the paper displaying him and his alter-ego, shoving it into his pocket. "I can't believe you _seriously_ did it. How much printer ink did this cost you?" He looks at the sheer volume of posters he made, there had to be almost 100 of them just in this hallway alone. "I mean this is just excessive, don't you think?"

"I told you that if you didn't reveal your secret within a month that I'd blow it for you. I think this is a perfectly fine amount, don't you? Plus, you've been giving me a weird feeling lately, so I know you're planning something."

Danny rolls his eyes. "For the last time Wes, I'm not a ghost. Don't you think I'm a little too… _solid_ for that? Oh, yeah- and _alive?!_ " He exclaims. "Plus, I don't even look like him." He points to his hair. "Black." He points to his eyes. "Blue."

"Yeah, _Fentonia_ can't look anything like Phantom. He's a _wimp._ "

"And _clearly_ not hot enough, either."

Danny points to the approaching Dash and squad behind him, holding back a smirk. "Yup, take it from the King and Queen themselves. What's up, Dash? Paulina?" Danny turns around to face the jock, tilting his head to the side to see the whole crew behind him. Dash, Paulina, Kwan, Dale, and Star all approach, the last of which pointedly holding her tongue and keeping her distance. Danny flashes her a quick smile.

"You the one that printed these?" Dash holds up one of the posters, also crumpling it up and shoving it in Danny's chest. "Cause it seems like something you would do."

"Oh, no no no. Apologies Dash, but you've got the wrong guy." He jabs a thumb behind him, pointing at Wes and smirking. "He's the one that printed them, I'm just the innocent victim."

Dash looks over Danny's shoulder, and then back at him, raising an eyebrow. "There isn't anyone there, Fentoad. You think I'm stupid or somethin'?"

Danny's smile falters, and then he glances back, taking note that he is indeed alone.

"Aw, friggin- seriously Wes?"

Dash grabs Danny by the shirt and pulls him forward, who holds out his hands in an attempt to placate him. "Now- Ugh, wait wait wait, Dash I'm _actually_ not the one behind this, I swear."

"Oh yeah? Well shoving you in a locker sounds like a pretty good plan either way." Dash looks around for a student with an open locker and shoves them aside. He pushes Danny towards the open door, who struggles. "Wait wait wait wait! Stop! I'm too- agh- I'm not small enough to fit anymore!"

"So? Even better!" Dash pushes harder, starting to struggle against Danny's strength.

Star bites her lip, irritated about the whole situation and feeling like she wants to step in. She doesn't notice Paulina glancing her way and raising an eyebrow.

She's about to reach out to stop Dash when Danny yells out again.

"Dash! Dash wait, I have an idea- even better than shoving me in a locker. Listen!"

Dash pauses, but doesn't let go. "You've got 10 seconds Fenton, what's your _great_ idea?"

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Danny barely makes it to Lancer's class on time, but make it he does. Star follows him in right before Lancer shuts the door, giving their teacher an innocent smile. Wes however, has been in the room for a while. He smirks upon seeing Danny.

Who eerily grins back. Wes' smile falters.

"Now, addressing the school's new _adornments_ , the faculty would be appreciative if students would help clean up the ungodly amount of posters covering the walls, as it'll make the custodial staff's jobs much easier come evening. I'm sure Mr. Fenton would be thankful as well."

Danny raises his hand. "Uh, why is Wes not getting in trouble for this? Everyone knows it was him." He asks.

Lancer gives a defeated sigh. " _Unfortunately_ school policy states that students are allowed to put up any type of poster or propaganda as long as it doesn't contain anything inappropriate for classes or breaks our content rules." Lancer pauses, and looks pointedly at Danny. "You can thank the Mansons for that rule change, if it concerns you. It's too new to have any sort of specificity yet, but it'll be updated after this… incident."

Danny slumps in his seat a little more, and Wes eyes him as he leans back in his desk. "The students are allowed to see the truth, Fenton- or should I call you Phantom? _"_

The room collectively groans, and, surprisingly enough, Star's the one to speak up.

"You know Wes, Danny's not the only one that looks like Phantom." She says. "I mean, you're probably more his height, and you've got green eyes, too. Danny's too short."

A few students in the room snicker at Wes, who blushes bright red. "I- what are you talking about?" He points at Danny. "Look at him! He's got the same facial structure as Phantom, _and_ he uses Fenton technology! How do people-"

" _Mr. Weston_ , that's quite enough please." Lancer gives him a glare. "Unless you'd like to stay with me during your lunch period, I suggest you allow me to teach my class."

Wes quiets, but stares daggers at Danny, who smirks once again.

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"You're officially going too far with this, dude."

"No, I'm not. This is payback for plastering my face all over the school _again_. Now shush. This is going to be funny, trust me."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, nor am I dissuading you from continuing, I'm just saying."

"Danny, where did you even get these guys? I'm like, _really_ debating considering this animal abuse."

"Sam they have the mental coherence of like a fly, and they're naturally intangible. Nothing a human can do can hurt them."

"Unless your parents show up, or if someone pulls out an ectogun. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the teachers had one."

"He's going to the bathroom! I'll be right back, Tuck, keep the camera out."

Danny follows Wes out of the cafeteria and across the hall into the boy's bathroom. There are a few delinquents hanging about, but nobody pays any mind to Wes, as to be expected. Danny immediately follows and enters a stall, hoping that Wes didn't see him. He then raises his hand, turning the small blob-like ghost he's been holding visible again. Sure he had to fly back home to grab it, but this will _totally_ be worth it.

He pulls out a long, thin strand of the Fenton Fishing Wire out from his pocket. He admires the craftsmanship that went into the simple thing, clear and strong, it's almost unnoticeable if you're not looking for it. He ties it tight around the small ghost, who doesn't seem to notice the disturbance.

Danny turns invisible and pokes his head out of the stall. He watches Wes move to the sinks and wash his hands, and takes his chance.

Floating forward, he nimbly ties the fishing line onto Wes's belt loop, being careful to keep the ghost tucked under his arm to keep it invisible as well. After he's done, he lets go of the ghost, who floats next to Wes like a half-filled balloon. Satisfied, Danny retreats back into his stall and becomes visible again. He exits just in time to see Wes walk out the door, the delinquents in the corner silently gaping at the little ghost bobbing along behind him. He hurries out the door to follow along.

As Wes walks down the halls, students give him a wide birth and strange stares, which honestly confuses him. Sure, everyone knows that he put up the signs that are still occasionally dotted along the halls, but people were acting fine at the beginning of lunch. Maybe he was just noticing it now.

Wes shrugs, unbothered and unsurprised by the sudden change in demeanor. They'll all see eventually that he's right, and they'll have to eventually admit that they've been completely blind to the signs that were in front of them all along.

He's content with planning for the future.

What _did_ surprise Wes however, was a freshman girl looking up at him, then immediately squeaking "ghost!", tripping back and landing right on the floor, her lunch tray clattering to the ground.

Wes jumps at the action, but still approaches the girl. "Are you alright?" He asks.

She shuts her eyes and frantically scoots away, seemingly trying to get away from him.

"Th- there's a ghost!"

Wes blinks, and then draws his brows together while watching her retreat. A few snickers can be heard around the tables closest to them.

"Ghost?" He questions.

"Heeey, isn't that kind of ironic, Weston?" A familiar voice calls out. "Weren't you just calling the Fenton kid a ghost?"

Wes stands up, looking Star dead in the face. "That's because Fenton _is_ a ghost. How can't you see it?" He throws his arms in the air. "Can nobody see it?!"

The snickering grows louder, and Danny walks through the cafeteria doors nonchalantly, wandering over to his table, and Wes gestures in his direction. "Danny _Fenton_ and Danny _Phantom_ literally have the same name! And Phantom carries around Fenton tech all the time!"

Danny stops in his tracks and looks at him."What, do you want an ectogun? My dad offers classes." He deadpans.

"Ugh!" Wes walks up to him and prods a finger in his chest. _"Why don't you just tell them all you're Phantom?!"_ he whispers. _"You'll get nothing but fame and glory, popularity, it doesn't make sense!"_

Danny looks over Wes' shoulder. "I dunno man, we already talked about you looking more like him than me, and I mean, _you're_ the one with a ghost following you." He points behind him.

Wes gives him a weird look, and then turns, indeed seeing a small green ghost floating behind him.

"Agh!" He tries to back away from the ghost only for it to lazily float closer to him. "H-hey! Take care of this thing!" He looks at Danny, who only shrugs.

"I don't know what you expect me to do, it's not like I carry around ghost tech with me all the time."

Wes tried to push the ghost away, but it partially phases through his hand, freaking him out even more. Danny just walks away.

"I may be a Fenton, but not a ghost hunter! Call my parents, I guess. Or maybe Phantom will show up if you wait long enough."

Danny wanders back by his friends as Wes struggles with the little ghost, who seems to be growing more irritated at who it's tethered to- not that it can do much about it. As the lunch bell rings, the A-listers walk past laughing.

"Maybe if you tell the ghost that _you're_ Phantom instead it'll run away crying." Dash laughs.

Paulina follows up. "You're still not hot enough to _actually_ be Phantom, but you've at least got some muscle on you from being on the basketball team. Maybe you can dress up as him for Halloween!" The rest of the group walks by as well, leaving Wes sighing at the situation.

"Fenton!" He yells. "I know you're behind this! Get this ghost offa me! I don't wanna touch it!"

"Sorry Wes, I don't like ghosts either. Maybe it'll leave you alone eventually?" Danny, Sam, and Tucker all leave the cafeteria- and Wes- after dumping their trays.

"So, Sam, can you make it a rush order? I can go pick them up during my next class."

Sam taps on her phone a while longer. "Sure, they'll be done in 10 minutes. Don't use them all though, I want some for myself, okay?"

"No promises."

TTTTTTTTTTTT

The following two classes go by uneventfully for Wes, considering the circumstances. None of the teachers consider the small ghost dangerous enough to call the Fentons for just yet, since they figure they'll blow the whole thing out of proportion. These types of ghosts show up occasionally anyways, so it's not like they're particularly abnormal for anyone that's been in Casper High or Amity for over a year.

No, the ghost itself isn't _really_ the issue for Wes, it's the fact that he keeps catching the A-list whispering to students across the school, and the fact that there's around 30 students hovering around his locker before he went home for the day.

The ghost bumps into Wes when he stops at his locker. He doesn't _feel_ it exactly, but rather gets a chill up his spine from it partially phasing through him. He sighs dramatically.

"I really don't know what you're all waiting for, it's not exciting or anything." He spins the lock a few times and enters in his combination. "It's just floating behind me, and I think it's getting tired any… ways…"

He blinks a few times at the open locker, for a second believing that he opened the wrong one.

But no, it was _definitely_ his.

Dash saunters up to the locker and opens it up as far as it'll go. "Woooah, looks like Wes here is quite the Phantom fan."

The interior of Wes' locker is almost _entirely_ covered with Danny Phantom stickers depicting his famous logo.

Wes growls. "It's Fenton that's behind this, isn't it?"

"Um, actually I'm _mostly_ innocent." Danny raises his hand a few lockers down. "I just popped it for them."

"You _popped_ it? You can't even pop these lockers! That was the middle school ones!"

Danny shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. "I used a bobby-pin?"

"Don't phrase it like a question! I bet you just phased it open!"

Tucker shakes his head. "Man, he is _way_ off the deep end, isn't he?"

"Agh!" Wes slams his locker and stalks past the laughing students, glaring at Danny as he leaves. "I know you're planning something Fenton, and I'm gonna figure it out." He whispers.

The group watches him stalk out (with the little ghost still following behind) and Tucker points at him.

"Should we be worried about this?"

Danny shakes his head. "Nah, it's just Wes."

"Aren't you worried he'll figure something out? Some more concrete evidence or something?" Sam whispers.

"Not really." Danny starts walking to the exit, with his friends following. He waves towards Star as well. "But even if he did, at this point I doubt anyone will believe him. Even if he got a video of me morphing then people would probably just assume he doctored it or something." He shrugs.

"Isn't it ironic that the harder he tries, the less likely someone's going to believe him? He should just stop while he can still climb out of the hole."

"I'm fine with him staying there." Sam says. "If it's less chance of anyone believing him then I'm all for it. We really should get that ghost, though."

"Alright, alright, we'll get the ghost."

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Look at the little half-breed, playing around while a potential crisis arises. Are you not concerned?"

A group of three Observants gathers at Clockwork's lair, heckling the timeless ghost and gesturing at the wide array of screens depicting the past, present, and future. "The council isn't pleased with the recent turn of events, especially Karlov."

Clockwork shuts off all of the screens in the main entrance. "If Karlov's concerned, then Karlov can _fix it._ It is your fault for underestimating that ghost either way, not mine for being unaware of the circumstances due to your… interference." He spins, and the Observants dodge his billowing cape.

They follow him anyway. "You know our sworn-"

"Your sworn oath of _indolence._ " Clockwork interrupts. "I am aware. If you didn't break these oaths so often I might take them more seriously." He looks back. "And we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with, either."

The head observant raises a hand. "Both parties are familiar with their stances on the matter, arguing will resolve nothing." He declares. "We apologize for the disturbance, we have other matters to attend to, so we'll leave at once. Forty-five, Twenty-nine, come."

The other Observant that's been arguing for some time shakes his head. "But Seventeen, we-"

"I said, _come_ , Forty-five. That's an order."

The younger Observant looks back at Clockwork, who simply scowls at the display. His eye twitches, showing his disdain for only an instant before he reluctantly follows his superior. They get a ways away from Clockwork's lair before Twenty-nine finally speaks.

"We cannot let this go on for much longer. The potential damage, the chaos…"

The elder nods. "Yes, but I've unearthed a different option that might benefit us. As he mentioned, we do have the ability to capture this ghost again, and I'm sure we can get the proper clearance to do so." Seventeen turns towards the other two ghosts.

"This might be the chance we need to finally rid the time-stream of the impure, Phantom. The details are still foggy, but as is anything else that the so-called Time-Lord protects."

Twenty-nine blinks. "You wish to break our oath?"

"It is within our oath to directly alter things within the time-stream, not outside of it. Clockwork is outside of it, as are we." He continues. "If we disrupt his vision, that would be within our rights. We've done it before, after all. It's only a matter of what to disrupt to cause the most favorable outcome."

He holds out a hand, summoning a portal out of nowhere. He taps his staff on it.

"We'll need to gather more assistance, however. And inform Karlov of the path we intend on. He may object, but obtaining his blessing will either impede or ensure our intended outcome."

Forty-five allows his elders to enter the portal before him. He looks back at Clockwork's lair, at the cogs and gears that encircle it.

"If he has any sense left in that old mind of his, it'll be the latter." He says.

He disappears through the portal.


	27. 23: Threat

**A/N: Sorry guys for the unannounced hiatus! April is rough for college students in the Spring, especially if you're applying for graduation. I've been able to build up a few chapters for the next few weeks, so we'll be back to regular posting schedule on Thursday mornings after this. Thanks for understanding, and thank you for the favorites!**

Danny enjoys his evening patrols. Calm, quiet, serene. He enjoys gliding around the city, and appreciates how the glass of the skyscrapers and business district buildings bounce the colorful rays of the setting sun amongst the city. He would linger there, watch the businessmen set off back to their families in safety. It helped remind himself why he did this. Due to the recent peace, he's found time to people-watch more frequently, which definitely had a positive effect on his mood.

Although, there were negatives to the lack of ghosts around. Crime was increasing. Muggings, robberies, break-ins. The ghosts didn't keep them at bay anymore. Amity's crime rate was steadily growing to that of an average city of its size.

Honestly, Danny should check out the ghost zone and see what's going on. He'd gladly sacrifice property damage to have the ghosts back. At least then nobody got hurt, not seriously, for the most part. It seems weird to him that otherworldly beings with what are essentially superpowers cause less long-term damage than other humans. Have more respect for life than humans.

So he _really_ wasn't surprised when he saw a man in a white button-up harassing another, smaller man in an alleyway along one of the skyscrapers. A dingy, dark alleyway with the whole 'leaky dumpsters and scrap metal' vibe to it. _Exactly_ the type of place you would expect a mugging in.

What _did_ surprise him, upon closer inspection, was the gun the aggressor was brandishing. It's been a long time since he'd seen one of those, a real one anyways. Ectoguns were common enough among the adult population, his parents sold them for cheap and nobody bothered to regulate them since the most they could do to a human was cause a minor burn. Sure, there's a possibility it could become contaminated, but that was slim. BB guns were worse than ectoguns, honestly.

So, while descending towards the scene he just scowls, dropping his invisibility as he floats towards the two men. Usually, it was enough for him to just appear and spout some heroic nonsense to get criminals to back off. Even if they weren't from Amity and didn't buy the whole ghost thing (which was common for said criminals) they'd be afraid enough of a floating, glowing person to run away, and if they _were_ from Amity- then his reputation would lead the way. Easy. Straightforward.

So he floats down, orients himself pointedly _off_ the ground and beside the two scuffling men, and clears his throat.

"Halt, citizens! Phantom's come to resolve this dispute." He raises his hand up towards the man with the gun, his 'heroic' voice unwavering. "Lie down your weapon, and nobody gets hurt."

The two men turn, and then look up at him, meeting his toxic green eyes. The one pinned against the wall smiles, his flushed, damp face brimming with hope. The other one, _the one with the gun,_ just continues to scowl. _And_ point his gun at the guy. Not an improvement.

So, Danny is once _again_ surprised. He hit all the checks- floating, glowing, name drop, heroic nonsense, and yes, he _was_ in ghost form. He even flashed the scary eyes for a moment.

Let's try this again, before his nerves get to him and the fact that a _gun is pointed at a man's head_ weighs too heavily on his mind.

He clears his throat a second time. " _Please_ , I implore you to lie down your weapon. We can easily work out some sort of solution." He says in his _most_ official voice. He eyes the criminal up, taking in his entire appearance. Short, almost buzzed hair, a white button-up with rolled up sleeves, pressed black slacks, black dress shoes, and a white belt. Peaking out of his shirt on his forearm Danny also notices an elaborate tattoo, depicting what looks like a slew of ghosts climbing his arm and howling. Huh, him being from Amity _would_ explain his composure right now from being approached by an otherworldly being, but then he had to know who he was, right? Unless…

The guy's eyes seem to widen with recognition, the fog behind them lessening. Was he drunk? Maybe just tired, but definitely not in his right mind.

He draws in a shaky breath. "Phantom, _finally._ " He sighs. He lets go of the mug-ee, who falls to the ground and scrambles away to the street, not once looking back. The mugger turns to face Danny, completely disregarding the fleeing man. He brandishes the gun back and forth like a harmless piece of plastic. "I knew you'd show up, eventually." He brushes a hand across the tattoo.

Danny drops the heroic act and lands on the ground, calmly walking towards the guy. He intermittently glances at the tattoo. "I'm not going to let you rob an innocent man. I'm taking you into custody until the police arrive."

The man laughs. "Oh, no no no." He points the gun at Danny, who raises an eyebrow. His core thrums for a split second. "I've been looking for far too long, I'm not going to let this chance slip away again."

Danny looks between the gun and the man, shaking his head. His core calms. "Are you kidding me? I- you realize I'm a ghost, right?" He barks out a laugh. "Bullets _literally_ go right through me. Are you from around here?"

"I'm actually from out of state." He steps forward, continuing to point the gun at the ghost boy. "You ruined my life."

"I've never met you in my afterlife." Danny responds, disbelief sinking into his tone. He crosses his arms and stands his ground. "But get in line, I've got a bunch of other people that would claim the same thing."

The man keeps edging forward. "Oh, I know. You're a menace. Drawing the ghosts here, hurting innocent people, playing up your little 'hero' act to convince the citizens that you have their best interests in mind. Damn lunatics, believing a _disgusting_ ghost."

Danny backs up and narrows his eyes at the man, trying to connect the dots. This man… seems oddly familiar, now that he takes a good look at him. His gaze flicks back and forth from the gun, to the tattoo, to the unmarred dress pants and shirt the man wore, and to his eyes, at the glazed look he wore. While he still couldn't pin the identity, his eyes reminded him of something else, something common in ghosts but rare in humans.

Obsession.

" **Stop.** " Danny commands. The man's approach falters, almost as if he tripped, but only for a second, and then he continues. Danny furrows his brow. Either this man was used to ghosts possessing him, or he had a _very_ strong will.

Dang it. This situation was tricky. Very tricky. Irritatingly tricky. On the one hand, he could simply possess the guy and walk him to the police, or subdue him, use his strength to force him down, but that would lead to more controversy on his part. There's no doubt this man, who had such an apparent vendetta against Danny, would go to the press with cries of injustice and evil falling from his lips. That combined with his parents' ghost scans or his injuries he would give himself from fighting against Danny would probably corroborate his story, at least to the general public. No, force was a last resort.

And it's not like he's threatening anybody here, aside from Danny, kind of. Hopefully the runner has enough sense to call the police for help. Them showing up and taking this guy down would be the best outcome. Then again, having a gun pointed at you didn't do wonders for logical thinking, but he didn't have many other options. Good ones, at least. His best option is to just stall for time.

This guy though… he sent an uneasy feeling through Danny. He wouldn't be surprised if he turned the gun on himself. _That_ would be the worst outcome.

The man takes another step forward, a twisted gleam in his eyes. Danny unconsciously floats backward a few feet, raising his hands in the air on impulse, despite the shroud of intangibility protecting him.

"Listen man, you _really_ don't wanna-" A faint beeping makes his hypersensitive ears twitch, craving to hear more. The gunman squints at Danny's hesitation. Gradually the beeping grows in volume, and two familiar voices join it.

Danny curses, a shred of emotion revealing on his face for a split second. The man looks confused, but cocks his head to the side and waits, eventually being able to hear the clicking and thudding of shoes on pavement. He scowls and steps forward at a faster rate.

"Damn freelance ghost hunters, I'm not letting you get away again, punk." He points the gun at Danny, and he dodges on reflex, despite his intangibility shrouding him.

A loud bang echoes through the neighborhood, and Danny's shoulder instantly feels as if it's been ripped open. His hand reaches to the pain, and- dang, it _was_ ripped open, judging by his hand that is now covered in ectoplasm. Great.

His world spins momentarily, but he can faintly hear panicked civilians on the main road. Good, hopefully _now_ the cops'll show up. He looks towards his wound.

"Y-you… shot me?" Danny's flight suddenly falters, and he falls ungracefully to the ground. He staggers into the wall as he lands. "But I was…"

"Intangible, yes?" The man asks, voice deep and menacing. "I came prepared." He keeps the gun trained on Danny and speedily walks towards him, reaching into his pocket with his other hand.

Suddenly, things click. The pressed suit, the tattoo, everything he's said…

And that. Ectoranium- the only solid thing that can bypass a ghost's intangibility. He only knew three people in possession of that technology. Vlad, with his containment cube and Plasmius Maximus, his parents, with their high-tech nets and traps, and...

"You're a GIW." Danny says, grimacing through the pain. "Except you've ditched the tacky white suit."

"It was _taken_ from me!" The man tries to slam the gun into the side of Danny's head, but he nimbly dodges, backing further into the wall of the alleyway.

The man continues advancing. "Our officers saw footage of one of the fights. You made us look like _fools_ and we were discharged. Replaced by rookies and repurposed soldiers that don't know a _damn thing_ about what they're dealing with!"

Danny lunges at the man, punching him in his lower jaw, but it lacks a majority of the inhuman strength he's used to- courtesy of the vile metal still embedded in his right arm. His opponent staggers briefly, and Danny uses that chance to shove his good shoulder into his chest. The agent tumbles onto the ground, and Danny quickly follows.

The faint beeping grows louder.

"Running out of goddamn time." Before even standing, the former GIW operative pulls something small out of his pocket, smacking it onto Danny's chest while he recovers from the fall. The ghost boy looks down to see a white, sticky orb attached to his suit, giving off a strange energy right over his iconic Phantom logo.

 _And_ right over his core.

Panicking, Danny pries at it, but it doesn't budge. The jumpsuit beneath doesn't even shift, almost as if this thing is a powerful magnet holding it onto his body.

"W-what is this? What are you doing?!" He stutters. While he's distracted, the man stands and lands a heavy kick right on Danny's injured shoulder. Crying out, Danny falls onto his back. The man stands up and wipes his chin.

"You can relax, punk." He presses a button on a small white remote. To Danny's relief, the blob stuck to his chest doesn't explode or pierce into his skin or anything, but instead grows in size, eventually engulfing Danny in a flimsy, translucent, plastic bubble. He tries to stretch out, pushing on the bag with his legs, but the bubble severely restricts his range of movement, only allowing him to extend to around half his height. While he couldn't phase through _anything_ at the moment, he doubts he'd be able to anyway.

The man continues. "I need you alive to get my rank reinstated, they wouldn't believe me if I just said I destroyed you." He says, speech muffled through the strange material. "So, you'll be coming with me."

The man spins around and trains his gun at the rear opening of the alleyway, preparing for the two approaching ghost hunters. "But first, stay quiet. I won't allow us to be interrupted."

The beeping transitions to a long, drawn-out whine. A feminine voice echoes against the brick walls of the alley. "It's close Jack, in here!"

"No! Stop!" Danny yells, his obsession flaring at the potential danger to _his own parents_. He imbues his breaths with as much power as his energy-deficient body can manage, but he realizes that the ghostly echo it carries will no doubt cause them to approach faster.

It doesn't stop his woozy mind from trying.

" _He has a-"_

Maddie rounds the corner, only to be greeted by a man with a gun and a captured, bleeding ghost. She halts in place, and Jack almost barrels into her at full speed.

"Mads, what's-" he follows her gaze, taking in the scene as well, and a frown emerges on his face.

The group is quiet for a moment, every member assessing the situation. Maddie swallows.

"Sir," She yells. "May I ask what you are planning on doing with that ghost?" She moves her goggles onto her forehead and draws her brows together. Calculating. "Civilians aren't allowed to detain or capture ghosts without the express consent of the mayor or another official expert, such as us.."

The gunman absentmindedly rubs his chin where he was previously hit by Danny. "I'm aware. My name is Operative C, I'm not a civilian, I'm with the GIW. This ghost is currently property of the federal government, so stand down."

Maddie narrows her eyes at the man, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to see your badge, _please_. And drop the weapon, it's unnecessary and placing my husband and I under duress." Danny has to admit, while he was sweating at the possibility of his mother getting shot and _him with absolutely no possibility to help_ , she was remaining amazingly calm in the situation. His dad on the other hand… Jack looked as if he wanted to rip the GIW operative apart molecule-by-molecule and was really _not_ doing a good job of hiding it.

Operative C scowls. "Unfortunately, I am in no position to do such a thing, as my orders are to present this ghost to my superiors. Before all else."

(Man, was Danny getting tired of being talked about like an object.)

He cocks the gun and nods his head. "Now you two can leave. The situation's under control."

"Are you threatening us?"

" _Go_."

Maddie and Jack exchange a look before nodding and retreating down the alleyway they came from. The man keeps the gun trained on the opening while returning to look towards his captive.

"Now, were going to go for a nice long drive. I can't believe catching you was _this easy_."

Danny rolls his eyes, struggling to stay upright. "Yeah, when you threaten innocent people it gets _so_ much easier, doesn't it? You're crazy."

The man shrugs, bending down to grab at the bubble like a plastic bag. "I wasn't actually going to hurt him, I just needed to get your attention." He drags him towards the back opening, where his parents used to be standing. Danny struggles to keep his shoulder propped off of the ground, but the jostling still causes him to hiss and his head to swim. "I know you pass by this location at around this time every day, I assumed that I could easily have you come to me."

He turns the corner with Danny, holding the gun up as he goes, and smiles when there's nobody there. "I'm surprised." He says. "Seems those idiots have an ounce of sense still left in them." Operative C only manages to take a few steps down the alley before a small cylindrical can is thrown in from the opposite end, ricochets off the walls, and lands right in front of the two of them. He points his gun at it.

"What the f-" is all he's able to get out before a bright white light fills his and Danny's vision.

" _Now- Jack!"_

Heavy _thuds_ sound down the alleyway and the pull on Danny's bag jerks backward, and then releases, causing the back of his head to slam onto the ground. He yelps in pain, which the tousling ghost hunters pointedly ignore.

" _Mads! I got him- The gun!"_

" _On it!"_

Danny blindly tries to reorient himself within the bubble, blinking furiously as cloudy sight slowly returns. He grips his bad shoulder with a gloved hand and tries to pinpoint movement in his faulty vision, only noticing his Mom's heeled boots clicking on the asphalt past him as she sprints to his father.

Grunts, curses, and clicking metal can be heard, and Danny's core thrums at the possibility of his parents getting hurt while he's blind and stuck in a damn bubble.

Just as his vision begins to fully return, he jumps as he's jerked towards the opening of the alley. Danny again groans uselessly as pain aches through his body.

"Jeez M-Maddie, fragile contents, you know." He moans out. A feminine voice scoffs at him. He can almost _feel_ the eye roll beneath his Mom's goggles.

"Jack, you got him? The police are on their way." She asks. Danny looks back to where his father was, noticing a large orange blob rising into a sitting position.

"Yep," he huffs. "these cuffs weren't designed to capture humans, but I figure the reinforced, double-plated steel will hold _you_ just fine." He looks at the man on the ground for a few moments, his white button-down stained with whatever was previously caked onto this alleyway floor.

"Ah." Jack mentions, and stands up off of the man. "You probably couldn't breathe, could you?"

As soon as the large man's body weight vanishes, Operative C furiously coughs, cursing at the other ghost hunter with words even Dash might hesitate to use.

"Hey!" Danny slurs out, unable to help himself. "There are children present, ya deadbeat!"

His bubble is briefly lifted and thrown into the GAV unceremoniously, easily knocking the wind out of him.

"Ouch. Better call CPS, huh?" Danny looks up at Maddie with a woozy smirk and a wince, smiling at the unknown irony.

"Shut it, ghost." Maddie finally responds. "With how solid you are, you're probably decades old."

"Pff, like one and, uh… three quarters. Hardly plural."

His mother places both of her hands on the doors of the GAV and shakes her head. While most of Danny's vision has returned by now, he doesn't manage to catch the expression she wears with his blurry sight.

What he does see, however, is her turning her back to him before swiftly and unemotionally slamming the doors shut on her son.

Danny uses this isolation to allow his smile to fall into a cringe, release a shaky breath, and fall onto his back, head clanking onto the hard metal floor of the vehicle.

"Aw man, today was such a good day, too."


	28. 23: Threat (2)

**A/N: Hello everyone! Update, I'll be changing the name of this story to 'Percieved Parallels' at some point, (if I can figure out how) I thought I'd give everyone a heads-up.  
Also, uni has been exhausting as of late. Applying for jobs, applying for graduation, wish me luck!**

* * *

Danny is rudely awakened from his nap by a rough jerking on his bubble. He squints at the flashlight that's shined in his eyes, jumping as a pair of red goggles reflects back at him.

"M-mom?" Danny blearily mumbles as he's picked up by his dad. Maddie's face flashes a disgusted expression before turning away.

Jack chuckles and throws the ghost boy over his shoulder, leading the way into FentonWorks. "Did you hear that, Maddie?"

Maddie hums, following behind Jack and peering at the groggy and confused Phantom curiously. She raises her goggles to her forehead and rubs out the red rings along her nose and cheekbones. "Yes, must be a secondary or tertiary obsession. We'll have to run some tests." At the mention of tests, Danny perks up, shaking his head. "Um, did I say Mom? I'm, um- it's… not an obsession. You just… look a lot like my mother, is all. And the whole waking up thing-"

Maddie squints at him as they cross the threshold into the house. "Interesting… it seems to recall memories from its previous lifetime. Truly an anomaly."

"I'm literally right here-"

Jack jostles the bag, repositioning Danny on his back. The wound that had dulled to an ache flares up again. Danny groans.

"Danno! Jazzy-pants!" Jack bellows. "Heading down to the lab for the night, go ahead and order some pizzas for dinner!"

"Kids, huh." Danny chokes out. "They go to Casper? I know a lot of kids at Casper. Think I can chat with one of them?"

Jack descends the staircase into the basement as Maddie leaves a note and her debit card on the kitchen table. "Ha! As if we'd let a dangerous ghost near our kids."

Danny huffs. "Not exactly dangerous with this ectoranium in me. Right now I'm just as strong as a normal kid. And I'm not even healing. So… I'm basically useless for your testing-"

"It's trying to con us again."

"Am not!"

"Go ahead and put it in containment."

Jack roughly tosses Danny into a containment field, (The same one he put Ember in before, conveniently) and upon hitting the ground he once again sees stars. Maddie taps on the screen beside the machine, causing its walls to glow a bright, ectoplasmic green.

Danny sits himself upright before scooting himself to the back of the cube to lean against the wall.

"Ugh, can you at least get me out of this… plastic bag? And give me some bandages? Ectoplasm doesn't really clot, you know."

"Hmm," Jack contemplates. "What do you think, Mads? We don't want it falling apart on us."

Maddie walks away and fiddles around with some equipment in her section of the lab, preparing for whatever she has planned for their new prize. She glances up at Jack.

"Yes, I suppose so. I'm honestly surprised that it isn't destabilizing already, for how much time its been in contact with the ectoranium, although it should still take some time before even a normal ghost is completely destroyed." Maddie wipes off her hands with a rag and then beckons Jack upstairs. "Sweetie, do you think you can help me grab some equipment from the van? Oh, and silence the containment field too, don't want Phantom to be causing a racket while we're gone."

"Wait wait wait, " Danny nervously interjects, shuffling forward within his prison. "You uh, you don't want to do that, I'll just- Jack, wait-"

Despite Danny's protests, Jack heads over to the panel once again. "Can do, baby. What do we want to-"

And the sound abruptly cuts off.

"No, no, no! Crap- Jazz! Someone!"

Danny, struggling against the plastic bubble he's still wrapped in, bangs on the containment field with his good arm as he watches Jack walk away.

He bangs away anyway, knowing full well that even when it's silenced, the field doesn't stop the sound of his fist thrumming against the shield.

It's something, at least.

His parents smile at each other and converse a bit more before heading upstairs excitedly, and then, to Danny's dismay, shutting off the light once they get to the top.

Their captive pants, still intermittently punching and kicking the shield with his very human strength, eventually giving up when he sees the small traces of light from the stairs disappear.

He leans back, resting his head on the floor and rubbing his face angrily. He stares at the ceiling.

"I swear to god if I develop a fear of the dark when I literally _glow_ , I'm never going to let myself down."

TTTTTTTTT

Jack and Maddie close the door at the top of the stairs and take a good, long look at each other. After over 20 years of marriage, they can read whatever the others thinking with just a cursory glance.

While looking into their eyes at the top of the stairs, both of them easily realize the same thing.

This was the best day of their professional lives.

"Jaaaack!" Maddie squeals. She jumps into her husband's arms for a tight embrace.

"Ha ha! We've done it Mads! Finally caught that ectoplasmic spook!" He spins her around for a moment before setting her down. "Studying it is going to be the discovery of the decade in the paranormal community!"

"Jack, imagine what we can _discover_. Why it is how it is, why it's so… _human_ compared to the rest of them."

"And that insane _power_ , Mads, if we can figure out what makes it so strong, we can model that in our weapon systems!"

"Which means we can't destroy it, not now at least. We have to get that bullet out of it so the biggest paranormal discovery in _history_ doesn't disintegrate before our very eyes. Help me grab some of the stronger restraints from the van, we'll need them."

As Maddie and Jack hurry out the back door, Jazz walks in from the living room holding Maddie's debit card and her cellphone.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to call back, something just came up. Yeah. Yeah, if you could. Thanks, Spike. Bye."

She hangs up her phone and slips it and the card into her back pocket, taking a glance at the back door before heading into the basement.

TTTTTTTTTT

"Intangibility, no. Flight, no. Healing, no. Nightvision, not really. And… changing back-" Danny shuts his eyes, and his form briefly flickers white, but quickly dims back into his aura. He sighs once again.

"Of course not."

Danny sits back and traces his fingers across the lab tiles on the floor, smearing more ectoplasm across his tiny plastic bag. Man, if this stuff _was_ blood, this thing would look downright gruesome right about now. He hadn't lost a lot of blood- _ectoplasm,_ yet, due to its viscosity, but that didn't mean he hadn't lost _any_. The citrusy-acid smell still felt like cotton in his nose, and the fact that he'd probably gone through all of the oxygen in the bubble really wasn't helping. His parents could have at least done him the courtesy of disabling this thing, or cutting him out of it, or whatever. Although, they (his mother) probably didn't want ectoplasm smeared all over the floor.

He stops rubbing at the tiles, looking out at the rest of the lab, his pale, colorless aura causing light to glint off of the tables, tools, and beakers scattered around the room. Up until now, the full reality of the situation hadn't yet hit him.

His _parents_ were going to... _study_ him, like a caged animal- no, not even like an animal, at least they acknowledged that animals felt pain. Which likely means that whatever operations and… sample gathering they were planning was going to be done while he was completely conscious.

Instead of thinking about the countless grotesque possibilities _that_ train of thought could lead him, it's probably better to figure out plans to get out of here.

He _really_ didn't want to resort to having to change back in front of his parents (not that he could, anyway), and under these circumstances, the possibility that they'd actually believe him were quite slim. It's more likely that they'll see it as some sort of trick, and that might actually worsen his situation, if that were even possible.

No, they might get more… violent, or careless. You can't really blame them though, any parent would be pissed at someone trying to impersonate their child. That scenario would definitely shoot out the possibility of them ever _liking_ Phantom. Which means it'll be harder to do the eventual reveal. He'll tag that one as the last resort and file it away for later.

Which leaves him with… not much else. Not on his own at least. Not trapped in a bubble and a cage, awaiting eventual dissection and torture.

Danny reminds himself that it _really_ wouldn't be a good idea to panic right now, although the situation probably warrants it.

The door to the kitchen opens, causing a crack of light to cut through the darkness. Danny's train of thought stops, and he scoots back forward to resume pounding on the ghost shield in the slight possibility it's someone other than his parents, or in the possibility that Jazz might hear him through the open door.

"Jazz! Sam, Tucker! Anyone!"

Danny pants and yells furiously as a shadow stretches across the lab floor, and the sudden, frantic movements he makes cause him to once again grow woozy. A feminine figure emerges from the doorway and immediately runs towards Danny.

He smiles at the distinctive long, red hair. "Jazz! Oh thank the gods, Jazz."

Despite the pain continuing to swell from his shoulder, Danny presses both of his hands and his forehead against the glowing shield, babbling a constant stream of thanks and pleads. Jazz's mouth moves, saying something that Danny can't hear, but he continues to talk anyways. Danny watches her expression, watches it change from concern, to careful study, to confusion, and then determination. She heads over to the control panel of the machine, swiping through menus and entering passcodes, probably trying to disable either the shield or the sound field.

Then, Jazz freezes, turning to Danny with wide eyes.

"Jazz?" Danny asks, his voice barely over a whisper.

She quickly returns all the settings to what they were before she came in, and then kneels down, extending a hand through the ghost shield (he really hates the fact that if he could _just turn humn-_ ) to press it against his.

For that split second, the worst thing in the world is the plastic bubble still surrounding him, preventing him from feeling the warmth from her touch.

The moment is over as briefly as it started. Danny nods at her as she turns away, completely understanding the reason for her actions.

If anyone can figure out a way out of this mess, it's her.

His sister doesn't look back as she runs up the stairs, and the small light streaming in from the kitchen once again vanishes, only to reappear a dozen or so seconds later. This time, Danny scoots to the back of his cage and leans against the wall as the lights turn back on, his parents emerging from the stairwell.

They have a brief conversation while they clear off one of the lab tables. From his low vantage point on the floor, he can't be sure _which_ table they're clearing off, but he can make an educated guess.

Probably the dissection table.

Danny shudders and presses further into the cool, ectoplasm-infused tile behind him, wishing he could just phase into the wall. He starts to breathe faster, and while Danny couldn't _really_ hyperventilate, (especially since there's probably no more oxygen left in here) it's not like it assists him in calming down.

 _Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic, please._

After sufficiently preparing the space for their new… _specimen,_ as they'd say, they grab a few more gadgets and step over to the containment cube, disabling the sound dampening first.

Maddie opens her mouth to speak, but Danny chokes out a nervous question first.

"Are you planning on… dissecting me?"

"We-" Maddie hesitates.

He turns his gaze to his dad, interrupting her. "Oh hey, what about ripping me apart _molecule by molecule_?"

"Nope!" Jack exclaims. "Not yet, spook. We're going to do some research, first."

" _Either way,"_ Maddie interrupts. "We don't have to explain anything to you. Even if we cut you out of that bag and let you out of the shield, you'd hardly be able to escape without your _ghostly_ abilities. So, you can make this easy, or it can be difficult." She holds up the heavy duty shackles and steel cable she carried over. "It's your choice."

Danny glances at his parents, and can't help from sizing them up. He knows their strengths, his mother's unparalleled skill in hand-to-hand combat as well as his father's strength and tenacity. Although, they were strong, even if he was Fenton he could _probably_ beat them both, as long as he was being careful, stategic about it.

But that's when he has access to his passive speed and strength increases, and maybe some minor flight. And didn't have a bullet of ectoranium in his shoulder. One hit in his injury and he'd probably hit the ground like a sack of bricks.

Plus, he had Jazz now. He didn't know where she was or what she was planning, but he _knew_ she would do her best to get him out of here. Heck, she's probably meeting up with Sam and Tucker right now, devising some sort of action.

God, he had such great friends.

"Phantom."

Oh, yeah.

"Sorry. Just got… distracted." He looks back up at his mom, who has that same irritated look on her face whenever Danny came home late or missed an assignment. Man, did he wish it were that simple now.

During this time of longing, thinking about these homesick wishes, he mindlessly blurts out "Can you... call me Danny?"

Gods, _what?_ Did he really just say that? No. No, no, no. He needs to disconnect these people from his parents as much as possible. He's a different person, they're different people. He was _not_ Fenton now, not while he bleeds green and glows white. And they aren't his parents.

Not while he's a ghost.

Maddie's eyes narrow, and she stares at him for a long few seconds. That scrutinizing gaze returns, and Danny can almost hear the roar of the well-oiled engine in her mind trying to calculate the best possible outcomes and risks, quietly determining his motives.

She shakes her head, grimacing. "Your ghostly obsessions disgust me."

Danny's lips briefly press into a thin line, face contorting in hurt, quickly pushing down the desire to _ever_ tell his parents about his hybrid status.

"Yeah, obsession." Danny sighs, holding up his hands as far as he can in surrender. "Just… I don't think I could fight if I wanted to. Just get it over with."

Maddie hands the restraints to Jack and unhooks a pocket knife from her belt, one that's tinged slightly green and has a shimmer of iridescence to it. Probably some sort of ectoranium, again. Danny scowls at the metal, wishing that it wasn't becoming so simple for them to mass-produce like this. It was so much easier on him when it was just plasma weapons.

As she walks forward and steps through the shield, Danny stiffens, watching the knife with eyes as sharp as the blade hovering and cutting through the plastic-like material mere inches from his face.

"Perhaps," Maddie hums playfully, and if Danny still had a heartbeat, it would definitely have spiked there, "If you answer our questions truthfully and to the best of your ghostly ability,"

"Like why you're so obsessed with our son." Jack adds.

"we could make this easier on you." Maddie continues. "While you may not feel pain, I can't imagine you'd prefer to be trapped in a thermos or a cramped container, or completely restrained, hmm?"

The knife finishes cutting through the thin, translucent material, and Maddie turns away for a split second to take a breath of fresh air and to rub her nose on her jumpsuit. Suddenly, Danny's pretty self-conscious of his sorry state.

"I- ugh. I'm not _obsessed_ with your son." He answers hesitantly. "I don't know where you got that... idea, but it's not true."

Technically, he wasn't lying. He wasn't a narcissist or anything, and those type of ghosts _did_ exist. He half-suspected that Vlad had an underlying obsession with himself, based on how he acted most of the time.

Even though the bag was now open (and Danny was dying for fresh air) he sat there patiently, waiting for his mom to give the word on when he could move. Wouldn't do any good to piss them off when the ball was in their court, that'll probably just end up in more pain for him (whether they believed it existed or not).

Maddie nods at Jack, who has to duck to fit inside the ghost shield.

Jack rattles the restraints in a vague gesture. "Stand up, Phantom." He says. Although his voice is deeper and more commanding, it held less venom than his mom's.

Ironic, he usually got along with her way more than with his dad.

Danny slowly shimmies out of the bag, doing his best to keep his hands raised with his throbbing arm. He takes a deep, thankful breath and stands up as straight as he can, hoping that they don't notice the height similarities between him and his human half. Thank the gods he liked to slouch even before becoming Phantom.

Jack takes a small glance at his wife, asking her an unspoken question.

"Probably just the cuffs. I can't imagine he'd be well enough to do much beyond walking without destabilizing."

Danny starts to tremble again at the mention of the ecto-cuffs, at the fact that, yeah, this was _really_ happening. Being in nets, being in cages, he'd take that rather than full restraints any day. Cuffs were something that really got to him, as his hands were typically his weapons, it made him feel the most helpless when they were behind his back and, essentially, completely useless.

"You got it." Jack responds, and then looks back down at Danny. "Turn around."

Danny attempts to control his breathing and keeps his hands in the air. He slowly steps out of the bag, turning to face the wall as he was told. He does try to keep his head swiveled around to maintain a careful watch on what was going on behind him.

Jack grabs his left arm roughly, pulling it down to click it into the cuff. The jostling causes Danny to flinch, but he doesn't make a sound, the pain slowly normalizing itself in his senses. Nevertheless, he still brings down his injured arm himself, hoping that it'll be cared for in a more gentle manner. He absentmindedly notices with a grimace that ectoplasm has begun to seep into his gloves. Gross.

Jack clicks Danny's second hand into the ecto-cuffs and- wait…

"Alright Mads, you can bring down the shield, I'll keep a hold on him."

Danny's breathing calms. He flexes his hand, feeling the clinking of the cuffs around his wrists carefully. To his parents, it'd probably just look like he was trying to adjust where they lay on his wrists, but for him… He tries to keep the surprise off of his face.

Yeah, that one's definitely not locked in right. Usually, a sure-fire way to tell whether they were on a ghost correctly was their aura flickering, or their powers and strength being clearly diminished, but with the ectoranium still inside him… that wouldn't happen even if it _was_ fastened on correctly, not noticeably, at least. He takes a glance at Jack, who doesn't seem to have noticed the malfunction.

He had a chance.

Should he take it?

The ghost shield goes down, and Danny calmly turns around to face his parents at his father's instruction. "Come on." Jack says, pulling him along by his left arm. At least he had the courtesy to avoid bringing further injury to his wounds, even though the motive was to avoid bringing more work onto his mother.

...Who was still staring daggers at him. He was getting tired of that. Why did she hate Phantom so much?

Danny slowly walks beside his dad, heading towards the table that they'd cleared from before. As he thought, it was one of his mom's dissection tables, complete with the shackles and restraints to keep whatever poor creature happened to be strapped to it this week docile. He was pretty sure there was some sort of drug-administering tool in it as well, but it's not like he ever actually used it on anyone, unlike most of the other things in the lab, so he couldn't be sure.

Maddie walks ahead to prepare the tools she'd need for… whatever they're planning on doing. She begins to remove a variety of things from various drawers around the lab and place them on the small rolling cart beside the table. Against his better judgment, Danny slowly catalogs the instruments as she brings them out.

 _Scalpel, forceps, big scalpel, BIG forceps, gloves, vial of… something, IV, gauze, sponges, sutures, blood draws, surgical scissors, bone saw… syringes…_

Danny's head begins to spin and he slows his walk to the table. This wasn't… they weren't going to…

' _We don't have to tell you anything, ghost.'_

He'd die. He'd _really_ die, or do whatever halfas do when their healing isn't able to support them anymore. If he can't heal, if he keeps bleeding, keeps losing ectoplasm…

He feels the mass of ectoplasm in his glove, running down his arm. There was a lot of it, suddenly a lot more than there was before. His steps falter, his gait woozy.

Hyperventilating, he was hyperventilating again, and he felt like he was about to throw up.

He had an opportunity to leave, with a flick of his wrist his right cuff would come undone. He'd still have to fight past both of his parents, but…

They were almost about to pass the stairs. If he had the right timing, he might be able to climb them faster than his dad. His mom would have to maneuver around her lab table and equipment as well as Jack, the likelihood of _her_ reaching him in time was slim- and she was honestly the real threat. He could outrun Jack easily, but Maddie…

If he was lucky, he'd run into the arms of his sister, or Sam and Tucker. If they got the call right after Jazz left, they should either be here by now, or close.

They're passing the stairs now, he has to make his choice.

 _Being an object._

The grip on his arm wasn't as tight as it was before.

 _Being a test subject._

Another step. Maddie lowers her goggles.

 _His parents._

Danny swallows the bile rising in his throat.

 _I can't do this._

-click-


	29. 23: Threat (3)

" _Danny's_ _ **where?!**_ _"_

Jazz pauses while tearing apart her brother's room to move her phone away from her ear.

"In the lab, right now. I think our parents caught him, somehow." She checks under his bed. "They said something about a bullet, or removing one, or... something, so we might have some time."

" _And you're sure it's Danny?"_

" _Yes_ ," Jazz stresses. "I went down there to try to get him out, but I didn't have enough time to break him free before mom and dad came back, plus, I don't imagine you know how to remove a bullet. The wound I saw, albeit very briefly, definitely looked like a gunshot wound." She rips the covers off of his bed and rifles through his dresser drawers.

" _How did he even get shot? He's a ghost, he can go intangible."_

" _I don't know_ Sam, I don't know _any_ of the details." Jazz pulls Danny's backpack out of his closet and dumps it onto the floor, the thermos along with various other ghost hunting tools hitting the floor with loud _clangs_. She kneels next to the pile. "I heard my parents talking about a hugely strong ghost and something about a bullet, went down to check things out when they were getting stuff from the van, tried to get him out, failed, and then immediately called you. I haven't even contacted Tucker yet."

" _Okay, okay… sorry. I'm kind of freaking out here."_

Jazz sighs, picking up a thermos. She shakes it experimentally. "I know, I'm being pretty short with you too. Just come on over and come right up to Danny's room, I think I have an idea, but I'll need the both of you for it. Should I still call Tucker?"

" _No, I got it, just get everything ready for whatever you're doing over there. We'll be over in minutes, I'm already in the car anyways."_

"Door's unlocked."

" _Got it, see ya. And Jazz? We got this."_

Jazz smiles into the phone. "I know." She says. "We have to."

She hangs up her phone and tosses the thermos and some other items onto Danny's bed. She looks at the wall beside his closet, knowing that's where he stashes most of his more… _incriminating_ equipment. She considers breaking through it to retrieve some, as this is probably an emergency that warrants it, but holds herself back until Sam and Tucker get here.

She checks the time, it's only been around two minutes since she'd left him, and their parents were carrying some… pretty intimidating stuff when they were heading downstairs. She was thankful that she was quick enough for them to not suspect anything.

She kneels on the hardwood floor beside Danny's bed, taking a long, deep breath to steady her frantically beating heart.

"Please little brother, you have to be okay." She whispers to the empty room.

TTTTTTTTTT

-click-

Danny wrenches his arm out of Jack's grip, breaking out of the right cuff in the same motion. Jack, surprised at Phantom's remaining strength, reaches out to grab at the boy.

Danny, seeing this, grasps the cuff still attached to his left wrist and swings it at his father. When he feels it connect harshly with the bones in his dad's hand he feels a twinge of guilt and hurt pierce his core, his obsession to _protect_ fighting against his human fears. He pushes it down.

Jack shouts and clutches his hand, momentarily distracted by the pain, giving Danny a chance to sprint around him and to the stairwell.

"Jack!" Maddie calls out, and rather than chasing after her prey, she instead fumbles around with the equipment on her desk, not that this goes noticed by the fleeing ghost boy.

The combination of how much ectoplasm he's lost, the ectoranium, and the series of sudden movements cause Danny's body to topple to one side, and his injured arm grazes against the right wall of the stairwell before he can even ascend.

"Mads, go after him! I'll start the house!" Jack runs over to the control panel by the portal, entering in codes and slamming on buttons.

"Oh, sweetie, no need." Maddie says, in a much too calm manner. She raises a small, green remote into the air and smiles.

"You know as Fentons, we have contingencies." She shakes her head as she presses the only button on the remote.

Meanwhile, Danny- currently reaching towards the door of the basement, collapses on the stairs with a shout, electricity coursing up his arm and straight through his core- along with the rest of his body. While not as strong as… _some_ of the shocks he's received in the past, it's definitely enough to floor him, and the reaction with the bullet causes it to seer white-hot pain back into his shoulder.

Maddie keeps a hold on the button as she picks up a line of cable and stalks up the stairs, pausing to watch Danny struggle to stand while still being electrocuted, supporting himself on the wall of the stairwell.

"We did tell you it would be easier on you if you cooperated." She releases the button.

Danny staggers around to sit on the stairs, looking Maddie dead in the eyes and taking deep breaths. He's lost this one, he realizes. How could he forget about the _stupid shock?_

"I-" he stutters. " _anyone_ would run once they realize they're being… being _experimented_ on." he slurs.

Maddie sighs and approaches again, Danny doing his best to flinch away. She stops and withdraws her hands. "We aren't going to experiment on you because that would likely _literally_ destroy you. You think we'd destroy our most valuable specimen yet within mere minutes of capturing it?" She shakes her head and pulls Danny up by the collar of his jumpsuit. "We're actually attempting to _preserve_ your existence. The metal needs to be removed for proper testing of your natural state." She easily pulls him carelessly down the stairs, almost lifting him clear off of the ground (not that it was a super impressive feat, he was what, like 35 pounds as Phantom?). Jack waits for her at the bottom, glaring at Danny and clutching his hand.

Instead of looking him in the eyes he chooses to look at the ground as Maddie pulls him along. He has a _really_ strong urge to apologize right now, getting a giant chunk of metal thrown at you hurts way more than you'd expect, and he's a _human_ -

Jack looks at Maddie. "Let's get it down on the table."

"Right." She pulls him over to the dissection table, Danny trying to walk rather than be dragged, and pointedly avoiding looking at the tools- or anything really besides his stained boots.

"Get on the other side, and only remove the cuff when we have it's left hand locked in."

Danny willingly sits on the table, still trembling but ultimately deciding it's the best (and pretty much only) choice at the moment. He takes a cursory glance towards the stairs, praying that any second Jazz, Tucker, and Sam will emerge from upstairs and whisk him away to safety.

They wouldn't just leave him here, right?

Look at him, the so-called _hero_ begging to be saved.

Maddie keeps a hold on his suit and pushes him down to lie on the table. The cool metal soothes his aching muscles, but doesn't make him feel any better about the situation.

"How many restraints?" Jack asks, and Maddie takes a moment to look their patient in the eyes. Danny avert a his gaze.

"All of them. And then cables around his hands and head."

He looks back up at Maddie with surprise on his face.

"Is that-um" Danny's voice cracks, and he laughs. "Is that… I really don't think that's necessary, right?"

Maddie furrows her brow, handing the waist strap over to Jack. He threads it through the other end of the table. "Perhaps not, but we also thought the handcuffs were unnecessary, which we were apparently wrong on." Jack pulls and tightens the strap a needless amount. Danny throws a scowl in his direction. He doesn't acknowledge it.

TTTTTTTTTT

Jazz stands on the steps of FentonWorks, tapping her foot impatiently against the concrete. She glances down the road every few seconds, keeping her eyes peeled for Sam's black sedan. She'd only called them minutes ago, so she doubts they'd be here this soon, but she couldn't stay in that house while her brother was likely being operated on. Without anesthetic. Or any type of painkillers or basic dignity.

She sits, stands, paces, checks the time and her messages constantly, heart skipping a beat any time she hears an engine around the corner or down the street. Still too soon.

She had to calm down. Panicking when she needs to stay strong for Danny wouldn't do anyone any good. He'd probably laugh at her right now, for worrying so much.

(If she knew he was currently pleading for her to save him, she'd lose it.)

Her phone rings, causing her to jump and whisper a rare curse. She checks the caller ID, and then answers.

"Hey Sam. Where are you?"

" _We're jogging up the block, I parked my car a ways down just in case, is Danny okay?"_

"I'm not sure." She walks down the steps, looking down the sidewalks. "I haven't heard anything from the basement yet, but it's pretty close to soundproof. I wish I could see what was going on."

Sam rounds the corner and hangs up the phone, running up to Jazz.

"We might have a solution to that." she breathes, looking behind her. "C'mon technogeek, let's go."

Tucker appears a few seconds later, breathing heavily. He leans on his knees. "The... Ops Center computer," he hoists up his heavy backpack further. "It's wirelessly connected to the security system… right?"

"I… don't know. I think so." She turns around and walks back to the porch.

"Either way, if it's connected to the same network I should be able to get in, it'll just take more time than just accessing it through the software. How long as he been down there with them?"

Jazz climbs the stairs, opening the front door and dropping her voice to a whisper. "Only about 5, 10 minutes tops, time is getting weird with all of the adrenaline. I'm surprised- relieved too, that you got here so fast."

Sam and Tucker follow her inside. All three take a glance towards the kitchen before heading to the second floor.

"Yeah well, Sam has a lead foot already, and when she heard that Danny was in trouble… were lucky we didn't pass any cops, let's just leave it at that."

Sam ignores the jab directed at her, bigger things on her mind. "I was also already out, I was going to pick up dinner. After getting your call I picked up Tucker and got here as fast as I could."

The three of them take the manual way up to the ops center, unwilling to take the risk of some notification going off downstairs from the elevator activating.

Once they're up, Tucker drops his bag on the ground next to the computer systems. He sits in the chair and starts entering in various FentonWorks passwords. Sam begins to dump out all of the ghost equipment they brought from her backpack.

"I don't have any of my stuff, but you and Tuck have all the same gear. Danny has some stashed in his room, too."

"Yeah, I already looked through his stuff. I found a thermos that's got something in it, which should be useful-"

"Alright!" Tucker exclaims. "Looks like they haven't changed the codes for this setup in like, months. I had to use an old one, but I'm in.

Jazz walks over to the monitors. "So you can get onto the cameras?"

"Yeah, not only do they have the software installed, but they have it wirelessly accessible up here, too. I was hoping that would be the case." He clicks open a security application and enters in another password. "I added an invisible admin account on this software a while ago so we can see what's going on and delete incriminating footage. Looks like they haven't found it yet." The application allows him in, and a number of security feeds display on the screen simultaneously, they can even see themselves sitting up in the ops center.

"So you know that they're recording everything?" Sam asks. Tucker selects and enlarges the one that shows the best angle of the lab. "Doesn't it show-"

As soon as the feed loads, a loud, pained shout is heard from the computer, causing everyone to jump. They watch the screen intently, tension thick in the air.

They hear rather than see a feminine voice. _"We did tell you it would be easier on you if you cooperated."_ The only person they see is Jack looking up the stairwell, which is out of view from the camera.

"Danny!" Sam cries. "C'mon, we have to go help him!" She begins to run over to the elevator.

"Wait!" Jazz grabs her arm before she slips out of reach. "Just… wait." She looks back towards the screen, where fragments of a quiet sentence come through. _"Anyone… being… experimented on._ "

A sigh. _"We aren't going to experiment on you because that would likely literally destroy you. You think we'd destroy our most valuable specimen yet within mere minutes of capturing it? We're actually attempting to preserve your existence. The metal needs to be removed for proper testing of your natural state."_

"Tch." Sam chuffs. "They just want him alive longer so they can torture him in the name of science."

Jazz nods, agreeing for the sake of ease. "Well, whatever their intentions are, it would probably be worth it to let them operate for now. I don't know what's going on with him, but the fact that he didn't just walk out of the containment cube in human form must mean something." Jazz contemplates. "So, this is either part of a plan, or…"

"Or he can't change back." Sam mentions,

"Or he doesn't want to risk revealing himself." Tucker finishes. "I mean, look at all these cameras." He gestures at the screen. "It'd be a race to get rid of the footage before your parents freak out and check themselves."

The room goes quiet, and they watch Danny quietly.

"So," Sam breaks the silence. "You said you had a plan on how to get him out?"

Jazz's face sets into a determined expression, and she nods.

TTTTTTTTTTT

Various straps tighten around Danny's knees, ankles, thighs, arms, and chest, rendering him completely immobile aside from his eyes and head. He chokes out another laugh.

"You know, I'd usually make a joke here, but considering who you two are, it'd probably be weird."

Jack coughs in a lame attempt to disguise his chuckle, and Maddie sends him a disapproving look before stretching the additional cables over his ankles.

"Humor is a common way that humans cope with trauma. I have to say, you're very good at imitating our behavior."

Danny raises a shaky eyebrow. "So what I'm hearing is that you think I'm funny."

" _No_ ," She says, "I think you've got this entire town fooled with your extremely thorough charade, especially the younger ones." She swaps the cable in her hands out for another padded strap, laying it across Danny's forehead. "Likely due to your choice of appearance."

"So you think that it's my _appearance_ and not the fact that I fight off other ghosts daily at risk to my own existence?" He's unable to move his head, but his eyebrows still knit together. "You're definitely reaching there, aren't you?"

"It's similar to other ghosts." She rests her hands on the side of the table. "They all have facades, masks, fake skins of some sort, to trick humans. They appear to be something appealing or non-threatening to lure them in. In fact, I can think of a few more powerful ghosts that have that as their exact obsession, including you."

Danny narrows his eyes, becoming more irritated than fearful, despite his current circumstances. "And how did you figure out these obsessions? Did you _ask_ them, or did you just assume?"

"Ghosts will _lie._ They don't _want_ to tell you their obsessions, how they died, anything of that nature. They'll fabricate stories, intricate ones, and-"

"Well wouldn't you do the same? It's their _death_!" He struggles against the restraints, his head turning slightly towards his mother. "You want me to tell you how I died? I was _electrocuted,_ basically by a lightning strike. You want to know what I was thinking? 'Thank the gods that it's me and not anyone I care about.' I was a _normal kid_ before I died, completely normal! That doesn't change just because- because my body's made of ectoplasm."

Maddie scowls down at Danny, a deep frown set into her face.

She looks up at Jack, who nods and walks out of Danny's limited sight.

"And tell me, _Phantom,_ why am I to believe you?" She asks. "For all I know, you could have been formed entirely in the mists of the Ghost Zone, and lived for hundreds or thousands of years before this."

Danny pulls on his restraints once again. "You should believe me because I… I'm-" He hesitates that thought. "I'm not…" He trails off, doing his best to look away from his mother.

Maddie studies his expression for a moment before nodding when his father returns. "Right. Jack, here."

She holds out her hand, and Jack lays a final, smaller strap into it. She smooths it out and situates the fastener.

"I'm tired of this." She says. "I don't neelil d to argue with a ghost. We'll have plenty of time to question you later."

Despite Danny's struggling, she snugly sets the last strap into Danny's mouth as he blinks away the tears slowly clouding his vision.

Once it's finally fastened around his head, she takes a deep breath.

"Get our masks." she says. "This should be quick, and we can take some ectoplasm samples while we're here."

"Do we want to take samples of the core, too?" Jack asks, and Danny stiffens. His core?

"No, we can get those later, once it restabalizes some. I don't want to risk destroying it."

Maddie picks up a pair of tweezers and the surgical scissors, heading towards his shoulder. Danny tenses. "Dear, would you turn on the operating camera? I want to be sure to get this as footage."

"Already done!"

"Wonderful! Then let's get started."

Maddie slowly begins to snip away at only his jumpsuit, to Danny's relief. He holds his breath as the square around his wound is peeled off and gingerly handed to Jack, who stores it in a small vial of fluid. He disappears from Danny's field of view.

Maddie gently pulls at the skin around Danny's wound, looking at it closely. "It's not particularly deep, it had a rather clean entry but… Jack, come look at this!"

Danny bites down on his gag, the uncomfortable pulling and prodding grating on his nerves, literally and figuratively. Jack hovers over him again.

"It's much more solid than other ghosts, and even… the imitation of flesh, and bone, and the way it's ectoplasm flows…"

Danny shivers, the pain isn't unbearable, more like a dull ache. To a doctor, he'd probably call it a three on that little face scale they give you. No, he's more concerned about the observations they're making at this point. He knows his body is strange, he knows it differs from the norm. He has organs, muscle, sinew, tendons- and he didn't have a doubt that Maddie would notice, but he wasn't prepared for it to happen this quick. He pulls against the restrains as much as he can, shifting his arm to obstruct her observations.

Maddie huffs in frustration. "Could you calm him down, dear?"

"No problem, baby." Jack pulls out a syringe- apparently this table couldn't self-administer- he goes to inject it into his shoulder, but pauses at Maddie's request.

"Jack…" she says, hesitantly. "Try to find a vein. If it's anatomy is somewhat accurate, it might have a stronger effect."

Jack nods and moves down to Danny's forearm, prodding at the skin to find what might be a vein. He feels the sharp pinch of the needle, but nothing else.

"Skin feels much more taught than a normal ghost's, it does seem like it has muscle definition beyond an outward imitation." Maddie mentions. "We can run elasticity tests in the future."

As he listens to his mother drone on about his various abnormalities, he feels his body slowly become heavier, whatever he was dosed with taking a quick effect. Luckily, it seemed to decrease the amount of pain he felt in his arm as well.

The rest of the procedure felt like a blur, he could occasionally pick out bits and pieces of sentences, mostly ones continuing to describe his anatomy, but nothing he could make much sense from. He could tell that there was a pulling sensation in his shoulder, and then another pinch in his arm. The words 'sample' and 'strain' were used quite often, and the lights above him looked rater pretty for a long while.

And then they dimmed, which he was sad about, and then he saw his mom staring into his eyes again.

" _It's taken… eyes… focus… thermos…"_

Danny tried desperately to string the words into some sort of coherent thought, but before he could even put them in the correct order, all he could see was white.

Maddie sets the thermos down on a clean table and sighs. She looks at Jack.

"Alright, now empty it back into the containment cube and make sure everything's on maximum strength. Phantom will likely retain consciousness shortly after going into the field, but even with it's powers it won't be strong enough to break out." She wipes her gloves with a rag, noticing Jack wincing as he does the same. "And sweetie, I can take a look at your hand once I disinfect my own, and then I'll make you some fudge, how does that sound?"

Jack's eyes brighten at the mention of sweets and nods enthusiastically. "If there's anything besides ghosts that can heal, its fudge." He picks up the thermos and jiggles it in his good hand. "We probably do want to keep Phantom in a containment field so hecan heal too, huh?"

Maddie goes about cleaning the examination table of ectoplasm. "Mmm. At least for a few hours or so. We can put it in a thermos before we head to bed, just in case."

Jack heads over to the containment unit. "In theory, Phantom could break out of a regular thermos. I don't think their small-frame vaporizers could handle his struggling at full strength." He empties Danny into the containment field once again, adjusting the settings for maximum power output. "I'll get to work on making a larger one, though I'll have to take some readings at some point."

"That's fine dear, I don't believe that-"

Suddenly, Maddie is interrupted by a blaring alarm. They both cover their ears in a feeble attempt to protect their eardrums, but the alarm wasn't exactly made to be subtle.

"Jack! The ghost alarm, it's-"

Jack runs away from the containment shield to approach Maddie. "I know! But this is the manual activation, who could have-"

A bone-chilling scream is heard from upstairs, and like a switch, Maddie and Jack immediately run up to the source, guns ready to fire.

 _"Mom, Dad!"_ Another scream. _It's Jazz-_

They burst through the basement door, Maddie on point, to see an unconscious Jazz being carried by a ghost. A particularly _merciless_ one, as well.

"The Wisconsin Ghost…" Maddie mumbles, and then points her blaster at him. "What do you want with our daughter, you ecto-scum!? Give her back, before we render you to a lifeless puddle!"

Plasmius shifts, holding Jazz under his arm like a small child. She really did look small, comparatively.

"Oh, big, scary words. My apologies." He smiles, his fangs glistening green against his glowing aura. "Just wanted to get some revenge on the ghost hunters that make my existence more _frustrating_ by the day. Is that too much to ask?"

The Fentons both grip their guns even tighter, preparing to open fire, but Vlad quickly grabs Jazz by the back of the shirt and holds her in front of him.

They still, and he smiles even _wider._

"I thought your little weapons don't harm humans? Perhaps I was mistaken."

Jazz and Vlad vanish from sight, although the ghostly echo of his voice still remains. He continues to talk.

"A moment's hesitation can be detrimental to a hunter, I thought you knew that?" Vlad's voice slowly grows further away, his escape imminent. "Now, I have some work to do, now that my own subject is prepared. Thank you for the kind donation, Fentons."

Maddie's face contorts in anger, and her head swings towards her husband."Jack, get to the GAV! It's tracker will be able to follow it."

Jack nods, running with Maddie through the back door and towards the assault vehicle. His voice lowers a few octaves to a strange tone for the usually loveable Jack Fenton.

"We'll make that ghost pay. Forget ripping it apart. We're getting our baby back, no matter the cost."


End file.
